


Changing

by sedimentaryloofah



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Bad Alpha Scott McCall (Teen Wolf), Bad pack, Bisexual Liam Dunbar, Bisexual? Theo, Bottom Liam Dunbar, Corey Bryant is a little shit too, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Good Theo Raeken, Horny Liam Dunbar, Hurt Theo Raeken, Liam Dunbar is Theo Raeken's Anchor, Liam Dunbar is a Little Shit, Liam and Theo are confused adorable beans, M/M, Mason Hewitt is a Little Shit, Minor Background Relationships, Scalia, Smut, Stydia, Theo Raeken deserves the world, Theo Raeken is Liam Dunbar's Anchor, Theo Raeken is a Little Shit, Theo Raeken is a Softie, Top Theo Raeken, Ultra-protective Liam Dunbar, his sexuality isn’t really explained, morey, so sorry if it’s bad lol, this is my first fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:01:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 52
Words: 58,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25444348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sedimentaryloofah/pseuds/sedimentaryloofah
Summary: Theo Raeken’s world hasn’t changed. Thoughts of the Dread Doctors and Tara still filled his mind, he was still homeless, and he was still hated by the pack. Well, most of the pack, at least. There was one thing in Theo’s world that had changed- Liam Dunbar. His  relationship with the blue-eyed beta was different. It took up most of Theo’s headspace. How could it be different in a world that hasn’t changed? But in Theo’s effort to find out about Liam, he slowly figures out parts of himself he could never have imagined to exist. He realizes, it’s not the world that changed, but rather himself.
Relationships: Theo Raeken/Liam Dunbar
Comments: 140
Kudos: 197





	1. Thinking of you

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, loves! This is my first ever fanfic on here and I am super excited!
> 
> In this chapter, Theo recalls the moment everything changed. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy!!

It was a foggy, dark night in Beacon Hills. Theo Raeken was sleeping in his truck, or at least he was trying to. Nightmares of his sister kept him up, memories of her cold hand reaching through his body and grabbing his heart made it impossible to sleep. So, instead, he thought it'd be best if he got some fresh air. He hopped out of his black truck and leaned against the front of it, recalling recent events. It had been two days since the war, one of the biggest fights of his life, and yet... he felt the same. His sister and his past with the Dread Doctors was still haunting him, and the way the pack treated him hadn't changed a bit. No matter how much he fought for them, no matter how much he risked his life for them, they still thought of him as the enemy. At this point, he didn't know if he deserved it or not. He didn't know if he deserved Stiles' harsh comments, Malia's brutal punching, Lydia's venomous stares, Scott's constant ignoring. Or at least, not anymore, he didn't. He had changed. He hoped that he would be able to prove that in this war, make himself useful and make Scott consider himself as an ally, maybe even part of the pack. But no, it was just as it had been before. Except...  
Liam Dunbar.  
Him and Liam have always had a weird relationship. He felt oddly safe around Liam, and he could sense Liam felt calmer around him. At the same time though, he always loved to bash the beta's nose in when he was being annoying. He loved getting him riled up, all upset and hissy, but also...he didn't want to see Liam get hurt. Ever. It was strange, but after this war, it seemed to get even stranger, which frankly, Theo didn't think was possible. He and the beta had actually exchanged numbers after the war, and the blue-eyed boy gave him a fist bump before saying goodbye. It was very strange indeed. So, for the most part, Theo Raeken felt the same. However, not when it came to Liam. Something had changed between them, but he couldn't figure out what...


	2. Temporary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam talks to his friends about the war, after ignoring them all weekend to get some rest. Just a fluffy chapter to portray their friendship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy!!

Liam woke up with a yawn and a stretch, which in turn, slumped his grey blanket off of his body. It was Monday, 6:50 AM. It had been three days since the war, and yet Liam hadn't recuperated. He was extremely tired, with slight bags under his eyes, no will to get out of bed, and his body automatically slouched a little when he walked. However, he was happy. Screw happy, he was fucking elated! He proved himself to be a good alpha without Scott's presence, he had fought in a war, and on top of that, he won- who wouldn't be happy? Victorious smile on his face, he found the motivation to get up from bed and get ready. About fifteen minutes later, at around 7:05 AM, he clobbered down the stairs, grabbing a banana for a quick, on-the-go breakfast. He headed for the door, but was promptly stopped halfway through by his mother. 

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

Liam rolled his eyes, but gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek nonetheless, which she quickly returned, with much more force. 

"Moooooooooommmmmm!" Liam whined, hearing his stepdad laugh behind them. Wiping the lipstick off his face, and giving his mother a quick look of love-filled annoyance, he turned around and wished the man adieu- "Bye David!" he said, adding a small wave. Don't be mistaken, these two expressions of love for the parents carry the same amount of affection as each other, the way it's shown is simply different. 

"See ya, kiddo!" David said as Liam walked out the door. As the fresh, summer air hit his face, Liam suddenly felt freed. He hadn't been outside since he war, spending the time recovering in bed from "a cold" as he told his parents. His inner wolf was begging him to start running, to feel the wind in his hair, to feel the adrenaline pumping through his blood! But instead, he willed himself to walk to the school- there would be plenty of time to run later. 

He got to Beacon Hills High and saw Mason and Corey waiting for him at the front, as always. They both were relieved to see him, having not heard from him during the weekend. Liam ran up to them and hugged them, something he did much more often now. The two boys were shamelessly reciprocal, swinging their arms around the blue-eyed beta and each other. After the embrace, Mason was the first to speak.

"Jesus fuck, man! We thought something happened to you! Why didn't you answer dude, we were worried sick!" He exclaimed, earning a furious nod and crossed arms from Corey. 

Liam smiled, thinking about how his friends cared about him this much. He responded to the two with a heartfelt apology. "Sorry Mase, but I felt like shit this entire weekend and I didn't really wanna respond to anyone so I turned my phone on silent. Feeling better now, though."

Mason rolled his eyes and Corey huffed a short breath, both trying to hide smiles from being amused by their dumb friend's antics. "Whatever, Li. As long as your feeling better now," Corey said, and with that, the three walked into the school, chatting amongst themselves, completely at peace. All of them knew this peace would be temporary, that some other supernatural creature would pop up in their lives and they would have to fight all over again. And they were okay with that. No matter what, this sense of peace was bound to be over at any given point in time. Liam just didn't expect it to be within a matter of seconds.


	3. Flustered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam gets a welcomed surprise, and makes an impulsive decision...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have 4 chapters written out, so I thought I’d post them on the same day. This is the 3rd. 
> 
> Thanks so much for reading! Hope you enjoy!

Liam, Mason and Corey walked to their lockers in several seconds. Still chatting amongst themselves, getting their things ready, they felt at peace. At home. Or at least that was until Liam saw the one and only Theo Raeken walking up towards him. He nearly threw his papers in the air, his face turning a bit pink, contorting into an expression so flustered that Mason and Corey just had to see what Liam was looking at. They flinched, and Corey got into somewhat of a protecting stance in front of Mason. So much for peace. But while Mason and Corey were intimidated, that wasn't quite the case for Liam. He didn't know what he felt for Theo, but he knew it was closer to a friendship than what it used to be. Theo has saved him...more than once. Liam knew that he had changed, and more so, something between them had changed. God knows why it made Liam almost turn beet red and want to fling all his papers in the air, but there was definitely something different. As Theo slow-jogged towards him, Liam regained his composure, telling Corey and Mason to relax, and decided to focus his attention on why the man was in such a hurry. 

Theo stood in front of him, a bit of a worried look on his face. He quickly shook it off, remembering who he was. Then he was staring directly at Liam, frowning slightly. "How’re you doing? Are you okay?" Theo asked, regarding the war. Liam stared at him, perplexed for a second. Was Theo worried about him? 

However, he answered quickly. "Yeah, I'm fine, I’ve healed. As for how I’m doing, just the usual. You?" 

"I'm good...the usual," he said imitating the beta in a light hearted way. He asked the same question to the other two, both replying with simple nods and slightly feign smiles. "Well, I better get going," Theo coughed out, clearly sensing the uncomfortableness he caused for the group, "first period isn't going to bore itself." 

He turned around and walked off, or at least he attempted to. He didn't get far before a certain beta called out, "Wait!" He turned around, staring at Liam expectantly. Liam winced, examining the distraction he caused, staring at the multiple of faces looking at him. However, it was high school, distractions were inevitable, and since it wasn't a couple making out or a fight or graffiti or a dead animal, everyone quickly went back to their business. 

All except Theo, who crept back to his spot near the three boys, two of which were looking very confused, the third one looking nervous but determined. "You summoned me?" He joked, showing off his signature smirk.

The young beta looked at him, then back at his friends, then back at him, and simply asked, "Do you wanna come to our pack meeting tonight?" 

Theo look startled, to say the least. However, his faces couldn't compare to the ones on Mason and Corey's. He was shocked, but already had an answer. "I mean, yes, obviously. But will the pack want me there?" 

Liam felt happier and more relieved knowing that Theo had said yes, and that it should've been obvious, so he let a soft smile creep onto his face, responding, "I'll see to it that they will, don't worry." 

"Alrighty then. Thanks, Li," Theo said slowly and softly, shocked expression turning into a happier one, a smile appearing at the tips of his lips. Liam mentioned something about texting him the details, and with that he headed off, a smile plastering itself onto his face.


	4. Words Hurt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam tells the pack about what he did, and needless to say, they are less than happy about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, so I actually have one more chapter after this!
> 
> Hope you like it!

"You what?!" Scott exclaimed, wiping off the soda he just spit out on the cafeteria table.

"Liam, he's _evil_. You hear me? _EVIL_ ," Stiles said dramatically.

"Evil or not, he's still a douche," Malia snapped and Lydia nodded in agreement.

"Look Liam, we'd normally be proud of you for inviting a lonely guy to hang out," Lydia said in a syrupy-sweet voice, "but not when that guy is Theo Raeken."

Liam had just told the pack about his last-minute invitation. As expected, their reactions were less that enthusiastic. "Look guys," Liam said, trying to keep his IED in check. Oddly, when he thought of Theo it seemed to calm him down rather than get him riled up like it did before, "I know Theo has had a bad past. But he's changed now! I think if you let him come to this pack meeting, he'll prove it to you."

Scott rested his forearms on the table and clamped his hands together. With a serious look on his face, he started talking. "Just because he saved you once doesn't mean he's changed. He could still be using us. The only reason we're not sending him back is because he apparently means so much to you, and because we don't know how to yet. And even if he has changed, we can't excuse what he did in the past. No matter who he is now, he'll always be Theo Raeken, the murderer."

Liam felt like his heart had been ripped from his chest. How could they even consider sending Theo back? And those words. 'The murderer.' They knocked the air out of Liam. He wanted to punch Scott square in the face, a feeling completely foreign to him. That only added to his confusion, and therefore his frustration, and he had to think of Theo to calm down. "But he's not! He's not the same person he was before. Hell changed him for the better. He's a good person now. I'm not asking you to forgive him for what he did. That's for later. I just want you to give him a chance, or at least treat him a little bit better before you head to college. I think you'll find that he has changed. He's funnier, he's sweeter, he's more thoughtful, he's smarter, he-"

"Woah, woah woah!" Stiles said, in both a laughing and scoffing way. "I haven't spent nearly as much time as you had with Theo during the war to know if he's _funnier_ , or _sweeter_ , or _more thoughtful_ ,"he said in a mocking way, raising his voice and pretend-twisting his hair while imitating Liam in the tone of the stereotypical helpless princess who's fallen in love; it made Liam's blood boil, "but I sure as hell know he's not smart," he finished, ending in his normal voice. "The kid literally has to do senior year again, for Christ's sake." Now that really pissed Liam off.

It wasn't Theo's fault that he was abducted by the Dread Doctors and never got a proper education. Theo was actually really smart, Liam realized. Especially when it came to biology. He knew the chimera was embarrassed about having to redo school, and he didn't want it to be brought up at the pack meeting, so he gave a rough kick to Stiles' shin underneath the table. If Liam was being honest, he was kind of happy that Theo was staying. It would give them the chance to bond more without the pack interfering, and they could graduate together. He knew it was selfish, but he couldn't help feel happy knowing that the chimera was staying with him. Wait what?

His thoughts were interrupted by Stiles, still complaining about the kick. "Ow...Alright, alright, we'll be nice to him." Murmurs of reluctant agreement were heard from the rest of the pack. _Good_ , Liam thought. After all, if they agreed to be nice to him, there's no possible way it could go badly!

Oh, how wrong he was.


	5. Hayden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam must manage to tell his girlfriend about his invitation. Chaos ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgot to mention- MINOR AU where Theo has to redo senior year, Hayden never left and is still dating Liam, and Liam, Mason, Hayden, and Corey are only one year younger than Scott and the pack. 
> 
> That’s all, have a good day and hope you enjoy!

Lunch had just ended, and Liam walked into 5th period- Math. It wasn't his strong point, but he didn't hate math and it wasn't too difficult. He took his seat, then smiled at the girl sitting next to him- Hayden Romero. He and Hayden had been dating for about a year now, and things were going great. She leaned forward and gave him a peck on his cheek.

"Hey Li!" She said, smiling wide. "Are you excited about the pack meeting tonight?"

Liam's face dropped. Not that he wasn't excited, but Hayden hated Theo with a passion, almost as much as Malia did. This wasn't going to be easy to explain. "Yeah, about that," he said, his eyes suddenly infatuated with the beige wall farthest from the girl, "Theo's coming." He said it so quietly you could hear a pin drop. However, Hayden's supernatural hearing picked it up. Her face morphed into a look of shock, disgust, and anger that he'd never seen before.

"THEO?" She yelled, startling all those around her, including Liam, and he had seen it coming. She quickly lowered her voice, but kept the same venomous tone. "Theo? Why the hell is he coming?"

"I invited him."

"You _what?_ "

"I invited him," Liam said again, mischief playing on his lips. The competition between the two ran fierce, despite both dating each other.

Hayden stared at him for what felt like an eternity, then said matter-of-factually, "Liam, I'm breaking up with you."

"WHAT?" Liam screamed, causing his second distraction today. The teacher gave him a stinging glare, before turning back to her papers. Hayden started giggling, the never-before-seen look on her face gone, replaced with a look of revenge and love.

"Liam, babe, I'm joking. I just couldn't let you think you won this one," she teased.

Liam's response was a cross of his arms, a pouty face, a slump is his chair, and a single "hmph" from his mouth.

Hayden snickered, then said, slightly more serious, "But seriously, why did you invite him? Did he put you up to this? I swear to god Liam, if he threatened you I will personally kick his a-"

"No, no, no, Hayden. He didn't put me up to anything. I invited him because I think he's changed, and I think we could use him in our pack, especially once Scott and the others leave. I invited him because he's a good person now."

Hayden shook her head, practically cackling at that last part. "Good person," she repeated quietly. "Look Liam, you already know what I'm gonna say, but I'll say it anyway. I agree with the pack on this one, dude. We can't trust him; he's a bad person. I know you have kinda warmed up to him, but you can't let that cloud your vision. He's still Theo Raeken. Whether you want to trust him is up to you, but I wouldn't." Seeing the look on Liam's face, she added, "Look Liam, the pack and I just want what's best for you, and Theo's not it."

Liam looked at her. He could see that the pack had good intentions, but he didn't think they were necessary anymore, and they certainly weren't helping Theo either. Ever since Hell, Theo had become more sensitive- not that it was a bad thing. Liam actually thought it made him more human- but he could see that the pack's words or physical actions were taking somewhat of a toll on him. He could smell the uncomfortableness and pain coming off of him in waves, but he didn't know what to do about it. Good intentions or not, impact is more than intent, and Liam was determined to do something about it.

"I promise you, he's changed. Just come to the pack meeting, treat him well and you could see it for yourself." Hayden hesitated, extremely reluctant to say yes, until Liam showed off his big puppy dog eyes.

With a dramatic sigh she groaned, "Ugh, fine! But he makes one move outta line..."

"He won't," Liam said, smiling. He was sure of it.

But it wouldn't be Theo or Liam who broke promises they made.


	6. What are Friends For?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam is still nervous about Theo, but enslists some allies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little Morey for you guys! Longest chapter so far, but I had a lot to pack in oops... 
> 
> Anyways, hope you like it!

* * *

It was 7:45 PM. Liam paced around in anticipation, practically bouncing off the blue walls in his room. Mason and Corey were supposed to be here to pick him up soon, but he knew they would question him about Theo. He couldn't blame them, of course. Even he was questioning what the hell he was doing. Two minutes had gone by, now 7:47 PM. Liam's thoughts were interrupted by a text message from Mason.

**BAEson— here.**

Liam responded quickly:

**Me: k, coming outside now.**

He sgrabbed his house keys, texted his mom and step-dad, telling them he would be out, turned off the lights in his room, closed the door, headed downstairs, and went outside.

As he hopped into the backseat of the car, both Mason and Corey greeted him. "You ready?" Corey asked, and Liam nodded, buckling his seatbelt.

They drove for about thirty seconds in silence, comfortable or uncomfortable, Liam didn't know. Then, Mason asked the dreaded question: "Liam, what was up with you and Theo?"

Liam sighed, tired of repeating the same conversation over again. He told them how he thought he'd changed and that he was a good person now, that Theo was a friend, not an enemy, and he told them how they should give him a chance at this party. He knew what he was going to get- The same reaction he got from the others: reluctant, fragile, semi-agreement. He prepared for the worst.

But instead he got: "Ok."

"What?" Liam asked, confused as to what Mason has agreed to, even more confused that he agreed at all.

"Ok, as in I believe you. I may not completely like Theo, but I can tell he's changed somehow, and if you trust him...then I trust him too. Corey?"

"Yeah, I guess. It couldn't hurt. Any friend of yours is a friend of ours, Li," the other boy agreed.

Liam stared at his friends solemnly for a hot second. Then, he laughed. Not a kind of mocking laugh, but rather a relieved, excited one. "I love you guys," he chuckled, combing his hair back. Mason and Corey joined in the laughter, returning the words.

About seven minutes later, they arrived at Scott's house. Liam didn't see Theo's truck yet, which filled him with worry. Why wasn't he here yet? Has he bailed? What will the pack think? Before he could panic any further, his phone buzzed. A text.

**Theo- omw, running a bit late, truck ran out of gas.**

Liam sighed in relief, and texted back:

**Me: Ok!**

Mason, Corey and Liam all headed inside. Scott and the others welcomed them, and showed them all the snacks. Liam saw Hayden on the couch, walked up to her, and gave her a kiss on the lips before grabbing a soda. They talked about school, college, and any supernatural business. It was nice.

However, this niceness could only last for so long.

"Where's Theo?" Stiles suddenly asked, pulling a face of skepticism and mild disgust.

"Oh, uh, his car ran out of gas," Liam stuttered out, earning a pat on the back from Corey.

"Sureeee," Malia drawled, rolling her eyes, "I bet that little bastard isn't even gonna show. Then he'll rub it in our faces tomorrow as to how we believed him and we can't even send him back." Stiles and Lydia made noises of agreement, while Derek, Scott and Hayden just nodded. Mason and Corey looked at Liam, concerned when they saw the look of pure rage on his face. But then-

_Knock! Knock! Knock!_

All of them stared at the door, before Liam rushed out of his seat and yelled, "I'll get it!" while running to the front of the house. Opening the burgundy-colored door, Liam peered out to see the guest of honor, Theo Raeken. Except, he didn't looks very honorable at all. His hair was a bit messy, his shirt was a bit crinkled, and he was biting his fingernails nervously. Liam would have to ask him about this, but for now, he smiled and invited Theo into the house.

Theo cautiously stepped in, and was quickly greeted to the glares and growls of the pack. He looked away, focusing on Liam, who was glaring at the pack to silence them. And silent it was. For about thirty seconds. Mason was the first to speak.

"Hey Theo! How are you?" he asked, awkward but good-intentioned smile on his face.

"I'm good, thanks," Theo practically whispered. Liam quickly showed him around, and after a while people went back to their business. Mason and Corey would occasionally talk to him, but the person who stuck by his side the most was Liam.

He even avoided his girlfriend, and when Theo asked why, Liam said, "You need company more than she does." And it was true. Hayden and the others were all together, while Theo was pushed off to the side. That was probably the only way they could remain calm when he was there: by ignoring him. Theo insisted after a while that Liam spend time with the others, and, begrudging as he was, Liam agreed.

About an hour went by, and all was going well. Theo headed into the kitchen to grab a snack. He heard footsteps appearing behind him, and took a quick glimpse to see Malia entering the room. He hurriedly turned around, sensing her glare upon him, chemosignals of anger rolling off her body. Theo wanted to leave the kitchen ASAP, so he grabbed a pair of scissors, intending to cut open the bag of gummies he grabbed to eat. One moment the scissors were opening in his hand, the next...

A fist connected to his face.


	7. Survival of the Bitchiest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What’s going down in the kitchen, and how will it lead Liam to make a big discovery about Theo?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooooooh snap peas! What’s gonna happen to Malia?! Also hope you like the name of the chapter lmao. ALSO 145 HITS ALREADYYYYYY!!!!?????!!!!
> 
> Tysm hope you enjoy the story, loves!!!

Liam was sitting next to Corey, poking fun at Mason's dancing. Malia got up from the couch, and walked into the kitchen. Seeing Malia, Liam suddenly wondered where Theo was. Was he in the bathroom? Was he in his truck? Had he left? Liam sat up, about to look for Theo, when all of a sudden he heard three things-

A _THWAP_!

A _crunch_!

And a loud, pain-filled groan.

Liam and the others bolted into the kitchen, only to find scissors splayed out on the kitchen floor, Theo's body on the ground near the fridge, and Malia hovering over it, bashing his face in.

"MALIA, STOP!" Liam yelled, trying to run up to them to rip her off of Theo. Corey and Stiles held him back, Corey sensing the level of pain Liam wanted to cause to Malia, Stiles just not wanting it to stop. Malia stopped punching, and the room relaxed a bit. Corey and Stiles loosened their grip on Liam. Big mistake.

Quick as the wind, Malia made a grab for the scissors, and panic shot through Theo's eyes. She opened them, lifted her hand up, creating a trajectory to Theo's chest, about to plunge them down. But she wasn't quick enough.

Liam rushed up to her, Stiles and Corey trying to grab a hold of him, but a second too late. He shoved Malia against the cabinet, earning a grunt from her, and grabbed Theo's hand, pulling him up from the ground. He leaded him to Mason and Corey, before he turned back to Malia, fury flaming in his eyes. She got up from the ground, and glared at Liam. "What the hell, dude?!" she said. Liam tried to look at her, but all he could see was red.

"I'll talk to you later," was all he managed to get out. He lightly grabbed Theo's arm, and led him out of the house, as far away from the pack’s violence as he could get. Once outside, on the street where the cars were parked, he whispered, "I'm _so_ sorry." He reached up to Theo's nose, assessing the damage. Just as he suspected: it was broken. He wiped some of the blood off, earning a slight wince from the chimera.

"Don't worry about it," Theo said, looking at the sky, "I deser-"

"No," Liam cut him off, "don't you DARE say that you deserved it. This was my fault. I shouldn't have brought you here. I should've known they were gonna do that."

"Liam..."

"I'm sorry."

"...it's okay," Theo said, smiling a bit.

Liam smiled back, lowering his hand from Theo's nose, then said, more factually, "You should go home and wash your nose. Hmmmm...But you're in no shape to drive. Tell you what, Mason will drive you home, and I'll tell Scott to let you pick up your truck tomorrow. What's your address?"

Silence.

After a while, with Theo staring awkwardly at the house and Liam staring expectantly at him, he decided to ask again, "Uh, Theo? You wanna give me your address now?"

Theo sighed, looking down at his shoes, then making his eyes meet Liam's, showing off his smirk, with a slightly sad tone to it. "I'd love to give you my address, if I had one."

Liam furrowed his brows, staring at Theo confused. Theo took a glance at his car, Liam doing the same, then whipped his head around to face the chimera, realization spreading across his features. "YOU'RE HOMELESS?!" the beta screamed, then covered his mouth, wincing slightly. He'd need to work on this yelling thing. He then repeated, quieter, "You're homeless?"

Theo nodded uncomfortably. "Yeah, and as much as I'd love to talk about it, my car's getting cold, and it takes forever to heat up, and I don't think I can wait outside for very long this night." He referred to the cold air hitting them, then took out his keys, waved them at Liam as a goodbye and a confirmation for his homelessness, then headed to his car.

Liam was frozen, still shocked that the chimera was living out of his truck, but luckily reacted fast enough. He turned around, then quickly grabbed the keys out of Theo's hand.

" _Hey!_ " Theo said, shocked by the warmth of Liam's hand.

"Stay. Here," the beta growled, then ran inside, keys in hand, leaving poor Theo confused, alone and cold.


	8. Sweet to Sour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam confronts Malia about her bullshit. That’s the only way I can describe this chapter lmao 😂

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY 200 HITS AHHHHHHHH THANK U FOR READING!!!
> 
> Hope u enjoy!

Liam stalked back into the house angrily, only to see the pack, except for Mason and Corey, who were now standing next to him, crowd around Malia worriedly on the couch. Murmurs of comfort and "Are you okay?" we're spoken to her. _They should've been for Theo._ Liam thought. Scott saw Liam enter, and his look of worry turned into something fierce.

"Where's Theo?" Scott roared out, "How could he?"

"How could he what?" Liam asked, confused.

"According to Malia, Theo grabbed some scissors when she entered the room to and was gonna attack her with them," Lydia said, rubbing the werecoyote on the back.

"I knew that son of a bitch was still evil," Hayden whispered violently.

"What? No he wasn't. He couldn't have-" Liam stuttered out, before pausing his words and walking into the kitchen. There he found a pack of gummies, with a little cut made on the top. He rolled his eyes and walked back into the main room containing the pack. " _There_ ," he said, throwing the gummies onto the table in front of them all. When he saw the look of confusion on their faces, he clarified, "Unless Malia is a bag of candy, the scissors weren't intended for her. He was just tryna open that bag," pointing to the discarded sweets.

"Oh," the pack said in unison, Scott grabbing the packet.

Malia emerged from the clutches of the pack, examining the item in her boyfriend's hands. She took a good look at it, then promptly threw it aside, saying casually, "Whatever. It's not like he didn't deserve it anyway."

Liam slowly looked up at her. His eyes turned yellow, fangs slowly started to peer out from his teeth. "That's what this was, wasn't it?!" He yelled. "You just wanted an excuse to beat Theo up, then find a way to blame it on Theo so I wouldn't get mad at you for breaking your promise! You'd do anything to hurt him!"

The pack and Malia stood, a bit shocked, but regained their composition quickly. Scott began to speak calmly, "Look Liam, this is just your werewolf and your IED. Just relax. I'm sure Malia feels bad about it-"

"Not really," Malia interrupted.

"-but we're all still worried about Theo, so it's understandable as to why she attacked him," Scott finished, giving Malia a jab in the ribs.

" _Worried_ about Theo? No, you're _paranoid_ about Theo. Your fears are completely irrational, and no, Scott, it's not my IED or my werewolf speaking. It's my common sense and conscience speaking, because I see that Theo has CHANGED and he doesn't deserve your abuse anymore! He took Gabe's pain! And furthermore, I don't even think Malia was actually scared of him. She just wanted an excuse to punch him. She even said she wasn't sorry! And I don't think you care either, Scott!" Liam screamed, exasperated.

"Liam!" Scott snarled, Alpha voice coming through. "I get it! He did one nice thing, and you wanna take a chance on him. Good for you! But for the rest of us it's not that easy. He tried to kill me, he tried to get YOU to kill me, he shot Malia, and he killed Tracy and the others! Sorry if we can't forgive that as easily as you can. And you know what? You're right, I don't care about him. He's not pack, he's not even a friend. He can die for all I care."

"Well, he just might!" Liam said, shocked that Scott would actually say that he didn't care if Theo died or not. "He's living out of his truck, did you know that? I bet you didn't! Pack, friend, or enemy, no one deserves that."

The pack all looked at him, Mason and Corey mouthing, "Homeless?" to Liam incredulously, getting a nod as a reply.

Scott blinked once, then said, "He's not like any other enemy. He's a chimera, he'll survive."

"And he deserves it, anyway. If we can't send him into the ground, this is the best we'll get," Hayden said, earning a nod from the pack. Liam looked at her, betrayed.

"Now can we get back to the party?" Lydia asked, smiling as she heard sounds of agreement from the pack. All except Liam, Mason, and Corey.

Liam was too angry to speak, so Mason did it for him. "Actually, you guys, it's getting late, so I think the three of us will be heading home," he said, Corey nodding by his side, Liam looking down at the keys in his own hands.

"All right," Scott said, and the pack waved goodbye. Right before they could leave, Scott turned around and said sharply, "Liam!" When the beta turned around, he continued. "We only want what's best for you," which made the pack quiet down and agree, in sweet tones.

But it didn't make Liam feel any better. It felt fake. If they wanted what was best for him, they'd treat Theo like a human. He stormed out of the house, shutting the door with a _**bang**_. All the supernaturals winced. Corey turned back to the pack, grabbing his boyfriend’s hand and said, "He'll come around by tomorrow." The pack nodded, said goodbye once more, and continued their party while the couple headed out.


	9. Puppy Pack, Unite!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam makes Theo the offer (Theo doesn’t really have a say in it but...) of a lifetime.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The puppy pack is official in this one!!! I wonder what Liam gives Theo...🤔
> 
> Hope you like it! ALSO WHY SO MANY HITS AHHHH LOVE U GUYS!

Mason and Corey went outside to where Theo and Liam were waiting. " _Finally_ ," Theo said, rubbing his hands together to generate heat, "now if you could tell your dumbass friend here," he signaled to Liam, "to give me my car keys back, I'll be on my way, like I'm sure most of you so desperately want." However, he didn't say that last part in a snarky tone. In fact, Liam might've considered him to be a bit upset.

Mason sighed and said, "Look, Theo. We both have _pretty bad_ impressions of each other," earning a slight chuckle from Theo, "but Liam has been talking to Corey and I, and we've all agreed that you changed since...you know. You're a good person now, Theo, and if Liam trusts you, we do too. You don't have to be scared of us, or at least the three of us, anymore. We don't want to see you leave."

Theo's eyes were a bit wide, mouth slightly agape. But then, a layer of softness settled on his features. He looked at the three of them, then down at his shoes, and said shyly, "Thanks guys, it means a lot," then looked up at them a bit puzzled and asked, "so what are we now?"

Liam smirked and let out a puff of air, then quipped, "Some people like to call it ' _friends_ ', Theo." Mason and Corey had pitiful smiles on their face, amused by the chimera's cluelessness.

Theo probably blushed a little, but it wasn't obvious, as his entire face was a bit pink from the cold air, especially his nose. "Friends?" he asked, sounding unsure.

"Friends," the trio repeated, smiles on their faces, one spreading on Theo's lips too.

"And friends, for a start," Liam said, a bit unimpressed, raising a brow and smile turning into a quirk of the lips, "tell other friends when they're living out of their truck." He waved the keys in the air, making a face that can only be described as "DUH." Mason and Corey nodded behind him.

"I'm sorry, but we only JUST NOW confirmed that we're friends, and I didn't want you guys to just sit around and feel bad for me," Theo explained.

"Oh don't worry, Theo, we _do_ feel bad," Liam said, "but we sure as hell aren't gonna sit around." Mason and Corey made sounds of affirmation. "Here's the plan, troops!" Liam suddenly exclaimed. Mason immediately got into a military-like stance, making his boyfriend eye-roll and Theo snicker. "You, here," he said, regarding Mason, "take Theo and Corey back to my house in your car!"

"Sir, yes, sir!" Mason obeyed, saluting to the blue-eyed boy, making Corey facepalm dramatically and Theo smile wide.

Liam giggled, which set off the whole group. Once they composed themselves, the beta continued in his normal voice, "Alright. You guys do some bonding, and I'll take Theo's car and meet you guys there."

Theo's eyes widened, before he raised one eyebrow and said incredulously, " _Excuse me?_ There is no way I am letting you drive my truck. NO. WAY."

Liam turned to him, arguing back sassily, "And yet, here I am doing it!" He walked to the car. Theo caught him by the arm.

"What exactly is this brilliant plan of yours?" Theo asked, skeptically, still reluctant to give up his car.

"You'll see," Liam said, finishing their conversation with a smirk. He escaped from Theo's grip, and walked proudly to the car, and hopped in.

An exclamation of "Wha-" from Theo was all he heard before he drove off. Theo turned back to the other two, Mason leaning against his car and Corey standing beside it. He stared at them while they smirked back, then finally yelled, "He stole my car!"

Corey laughed and Mason snickered, "Get your ass in the car." Theo pouted, but got in the car nonetheless.

Around 10:56 PM, Mason made it to their destination, two minutes after Liam. The three of them got out of the car, talking about the real meaning of DNCE's "Cake by the Ocean". Liam stood outside Theo's truck, smiling. "Glad to see you guys have bonded," he said. Theo looked at him, and saw his truck. He immediately ran up to it, hugging it by the front.

"Oh, Becca! My sweet, sweet Becca!" he mock-sobbed.

"You names your truck Rebecca?" Corey asked, he and the other two boys barely containing their laughter.

Theo stood up, suddenly offended and defensive, saying, "Not _Re_ becca. Becca. Just. Becca." Corey put his hands up in surrender. "Anyway, what are we doing here?" the chimera asked. Corey and Mason looked at Liam expectantly as well.

Liam looked at the couple, and then focused on the curious chimera. Seeing the look on his face, he smiled wholesomely, then pointed to his house, and said in a sweet voice of pure affection, "Welcome to your new home, Theo."


	10. Stuck With You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Once Liam makes his mind up about something, there’s no going back on it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooooo 2 chapters in one day! ALSO 300 HITS WTF AHHHH! Also, IMPORTANT (kinda): this story is also on Wattpad, and those chapters are posted slightly faster, so if u wanna check it out there ur more than welcome to! Thanks, loves, and hope u enjoy! ❤️

Mason and Corey stood still, shocked, but when they slowly realized what was happening, grins emerged onto their faces.

Theo, on the other hand, was having a rather difficult time figuring out what the hell was going on. "Pardon?" he asked incredulously.

Liam rolled his eyes and smiled, explaining, "You're moving in, idiot." Theo stared at him, slowly processing his words.

Then, quick as a whip he said adamantly, "No. I'm not. I can't."

Liam frowned a bit, asking worriedly, "Why? Do you not want to?"

Theo replied, seeing the hurt on the beta's face, saying, "No, of course I _want_ to! Who wouldn't? But it's your fucking _house_ , Liam!"

Liam stared for a moment, then asked, "But you want to?"

"Yes, but-"

"Good!" Liam said, the worried and anticipating look on his face changing into one of pure joy, "then it's settled! You're moving in!"

"What?" Theo asked, confused. "Didn't I just-what-I ju-Liam-I-" the chimera stuttered.

"If you want to move in, I don't see why you can't," the beta said slowly, as if it were obvious.

"Oh gee, I don't know: MONEY? FOOD? THE FACT THAT YOUR PARENTS BARELY KNOW WHO I AM?" Theo yelled, startling all three of the other boys and the elderly couple walking across the street from Liam's house. Theo waved shyly at them.

"Theo, I've already called my parents. They said they'd love to have you as long as you were fine with it. And since you just said you were..." Liam saw the look on Theo's face: pure guilt. "Come on, Theo, don't just sit around and feel bad for me," the beta said, imitating the chimera's last words. "Now, Corey, Mase, could you help Theo with his stuff? Just bring it inside to the foyer and my dad and I will set it up later. I've got a call to make."

Mason and Corey nodded, while Liam headed up the walkway to the house, going inside. However, he didn't miss the mild, appalled squeaking sound that came out of Theo's mouth. Corey got the pillows from Theo's car, while Mason got the blankets. Theo grabbed the tiny knick-knacks from his truck, as well as his clothes. He looked up at the other two boys, and simply asked, "What the hell just happened?"

Corey looked at him and said, "You're living with Liam now, that's what."

Mason shoved his boyfriend a little, then explained, "Liam's _the_ most stubborn person I know. Once you said you wanted to move it but felt guilty, it was in the cement. There's no backing out now. Liam never takes no for an answer. There's only one exception to that: If the person _really_ doesn't want to do the thing Liam said they should do. And since you said you did," Mason shrugged his shoulders, "you live with him now." Theo's face went blank for a while, but a smile crept onto his face when it finally sunk in that Liam _cared_ about him.

Theo smirked a little, saying, "I guess I'm stuck with him now, huh?"

Mason smiled and patted his shoulder, while Corey laughed and said, "Don't worry. It's not as bad as you think." The three of them chuckled and walked up to the house, and went inside. There they found Liam in the living room, setting up snacks and sodas. He looked at them and smiled.

"Just got off the phone with my parents. We just confirmed it. It's official, Theo. You're part of the Geyer family." Liam said happily, then pulled Theo into a hug. Theo stood still, frozen, but then slowly but surely wrapped his arms around the beta. Mason and Corey joined in after a bit. It was nice and warm. It was _perfect_. It wasn't just a house, it was _home_. Theo could sense it the moment he walked inside. He hadn't felt like this in his entire life. Not even his old house had felt like this. His parents were constantly fighting in there, and it didn't feel the same after Tara died. But he didn't focus on that. He focused on being in the arms of people who cared about him. Theo smiled wide.

The hug lasted about a second longer, before they mutually disbanded. Liam was the first to speak. It was to Mason and Corey. "You two wanna stay the night?"

Mason replied, "Yeah! Lemme just tell my parents. You staying, Corey, or should I tell 'em it's just me?"

Corey nodded, "Count me in!" Then he plopped himself on the couch, grabbing a soda. Theo looked a bit confused.

Liam saw the look of confusion, and said, "Mason and Corey live together too. Mason's family is letting him stay with them. Kinda like us." Theo nodded in understanding, a bit baffled by the coincidence. But he brushed it aside nonetheless, and sat down next to Liam on the couch. Liam was sitting next to Corey who was sitting next to Mason, who was on the far left side of the couch. Mason tossed Liam the remote.

The beta turned towards the group, and asked, What do you guys wanna watch?”


	11. Me and the Boys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just some fluff and stuff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is just to establish the relationship between the four, sorry if it’s a bit short!
> 
> Hope you like it!!!

“Ooh, let’s watch Die Hard!” Corey said excitedly.

“Hell no, you know it gives me nightmares,” Mason responded, earning an eye roll from Corey.

“Theo, what do you wanna watch?” Liam asked, looking at the boy next to him.

“Well, I don’t really know. I’ve never seen a movie before,” the chimera answered. All the boys stopped what they were doing and dramatically gasped in unison.

“You-you’ve never seen a m-m- _movie_ before? _Ahhhhhhh..._ ” Mason stuttered out theatrically, then “fainted” into Corey’s lap with a hand on his forehead.

Liam fake-sobbed, “MASON! DON’T LEAVE ME!”

“I can see the light. Grandma, is that you?” Mason croaked out. Corey smacked his forehead, earning an “ow” from the boy and a giggle from Liam. 

“Hardy har har,” Theo droned, “Sue me. I’ve been living with the Dread Doctors for the past 10 years and they’re not exactly the movie-watching group.”

Liam snickered, then said, “Oh, man. We’re gonna have to fill you in on life from age eight to eighteen. Alright, let’s start with the basics, then: Kids’s movies! Any suggestions?” 

“Oh, let’s watch Frozen!” Corey exclaimed.

”Yeah!” Mason agreed, and Liam nodded. 

“Woah, woah, woah, woah,” Theo said suddenly, “I get that we’re reliving the time I’ve lost to the Dread Doctor’s, and that’s very nice of you guys, but _kid’s_ movies? Really?”

Yes,” Liam said. Mason and Corey nodded along. 

Liam quickly ran out and grabbed some blankets and pillows to get comfy in, and handed out sodas and snacks to each of the boy’s liking. Then he scrolled through Disney+ until he found the movie. 

“You’ll love it, I promise,” Corey said smiling. Liam and Mason agreed while munching on their food. 

“I doubt it,” Theo muttered dubiously, but agreed nevertheless.


	12. Meet the Parents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s official! Theo is part of the Geyer family now. Theo meets Liam’s parents, and they are more than happy to take the chimera in. Meanwhile, Liam has some pretty confusing thoughts. Morey is fangirling about the whole thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope u like it! Y’all r so sweet! Also, Jenna is a bean!!!! 
> 
> Hope you like it, love u guys! 💛

"That. Was. AWESOME!" Theo shrieked while standing up. He saw the shocked looks on the faces of his friends and quickly adjusted, saying, "Buhhh, I mean...it was _okay_ ," while sitting down.

"Sure, Theo, sure," Liam said, poking the boy in the stomach. Theo blushed a little. It made Liam's heart flutter a bit. He was suddenly confused. But, Mason started talking before Liam could delve into his feelings.

"Of course Theo, it's not like you were singing along to the entire soundtrack of the movie," Mason said sarcastically. Theo had belted the songs at the top of his lungs, occasionally looking the lyrics up on his phone. The memory made Liam giggle. He panicked a bit, wondering if Theo had noticed, but luckily Liam didn't look out of place, for Corey was cackling at the comment as well.

Theo pouted, then argued, "They were catchy songs." The boys kept talking, not noticing the unlatching sound of the front door.

"We're home!" Mrs. Geyer sing-songed. She walked in, Mr. Geyer following suit, holding a small bag.

"Mom, David!" Liam exclaimed, Corey and Mason waving. Theo bowed his head down a bit, suddenly feeling very shy.

"Mason, Corey, it's good to see you! Are you staying over?" Jenna asked.

"Mmhmm," Mason responded, sounding a bit muffled while eating popcorn. Corey smiled and nodded.

"Great!" Jenna exclaimed, putting her shoes in the cupboard. She turned around to fully look at the boys. She took a good look at them before settling her gaze on the boy on the far side of the couch. He met her eyes. "And you," she said slowly, smiling and pointing a finger to him, "must be Theo." He nodded a bit. "Alrighty, then," Mrs. Geyer suddenly said, "we've got ice cream for you boys!" David waved the bag in his hands.

"Yay!" Mason, Corey and Liam yelped in unison.

"Come to the table, kids," David said. He waved the bag in Liam's face. "Follow the ice cream, Li! Come on!" Liam theatrically made a face of extreme desire and started panting like a dog, following the dangling bag of ice cream to the table while David waved it in front of him. Corey and Mason snickered. The Geyer family wasn't normal, per say. Theo had no idea what he had gotten into.

The six of them crowded around the table. Jenna spoke first. "Mint chip and gummy bears for you, Liam, strawberry with sprinkles for you, Corey, cookie dough with no toppings for you, Mason," she said, having memorized the boy's orders, "blackberry with hot fudge for David, lemon sorbet for me, and Theo..." she trailed off, reaching into the bag, "we've got a triple scoop Neapolitan sundae for you!" Theo gawked at what she had pulled out, while the other boys made sounds of awe.

The triple scoop Neapolitan sundae was a ginormous serving of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice cream, topped with a banana, whipped cream, and a single cherry. The packaging was humongous, almost as big as a takeout box for a full meal. 

"I- yo-you really didn't have to," Theo stumbled on his words, slowly taking the ice cream from her, "Thank you, Mrs..."

"Geyer," she finished for him, "I'm Jenna Geyer and this is David Geyer, Liam's step-dad." He and Theo waved at each other. "And it's no problem, dearie," she said smiling. She sat down, looking at him with pity and affection as he started eating, remarkably faster than the others. "You haven't had a good meal in a while, have you?" Theo nodded a bit, feeling embarrassed. "So, Liam tells us you don't have a home." Theo looked up at her, her facial features soft on her face. She wasn't mocking him or threatening him, and neither was David. They both looked genuinely sad for the boy. It helped Theo relax a bit.

"Yeah," he said.

"Well, the three of us have talked it over, as I'm sure Liam has told you, and if it's alright," she said, smiling at the wholesomeness of the moment, "we'd love to take you in to the Geyer family." Mason and Corey were silently celebrating while the other three smiled hopefully at Theo.

Theo responded, "Are you sure it won't be too much trouble?"

Jenna scoffed, "Trouble?! Oh honey, don't worry about us. We'll be fine taking you in! The question is, do you want to?"

Theo started smiling, looking down at the people who cared about him so much, and whispered, "Yeah, I'd like that."

"WHOO HOOOO!" Jenna cheered, scaring Theo. Everyone else starting laughing at the outburst and Theo's oblivion to it. It was _fun_.

They all chatted and ate ice cream, talking especially about where Theo would sleep. It was decided that he could take the guest room next to Liam's. They'd be on one side of the hallway while Jenna and David would be far in front of them on the other side. That meant that they couldn't hear anything the two boys got up to. The thought had made Liam blush furiously. What the fuck?

After a while, David and Liam carried Theo's few belongings up to the room. Jenna and David went to sleep after that, wishing the boys goodnight, telling them to keep the noise down and to fall asleep soon. They promised to both things, but had no intention of doing the latter.

They set up Theo's room for a little while. When you walked in, the bed was in the farther right corner, which was to the right of the window. The dresser was on the wall with the door on it, and there were shelves of his belongings there too, like his deck of cards and his books. On the left wall, he had a work desk. On the right wall was his closet. A couple other pieces of furniture were here and there, but for the most part, that was his room. It looked cozy, Theo thought.

After they did that, they played video games in Liam's room, all the way until 2:50 AM. Around then, they set their consoles down, and fell asleep.

Ya, you read it right- Theo Raeken _fell asleep._


	13. Reluctant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Theo doesn’t like that Liam is hanging out with Hayden. Why?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys like the chapter! Also 600 hits wtf ahhhhh!!
> 
> Thank you, hope u enjoy!

Theo woke up peacefully, stretching a bit, letting the warm sunlight from the window flow onto his body. As he slowly gained more consciousness, he realized that he was alone in the bed. Also, he realized that it wasn't his bed. Furthermore, he realized that he had actually slept! His chimera nose picked up Liam's scent, and as he looked around he figured out that it was Liam's room. The four boys had fallen asleep there, Mason and Corey slightly spooning at the top of the bed, Liam falling asleep, head near the opposite side of the bed, and Theo lying down on the far right side of the bed, in a bit of a fetal position. How he slept through the night, he had no idea. He'd have to think about that later.

Theo picked up his phone. On his lock screen, it said **May 29, Tuesday- 11:54 AM**. Theo began to panic, until he realized today was orientation for incoming freshman and school was closed. But regardless, it was late, so he hopped out of the bed, rushed to his room next door, went into the bathroom to shower and got ready.

He ran down the stairs to be greeted by his three friends talking to one another, Jenna making lunch, and David heading out the door.

"Theo!" Jenna suddenly said happily, turning the heads of the four men to the stairs. Theo smiled and waved.

"Good morning!" he chirped.

"Hi Theo, you caught me just in time. I'm heading out for work now," David said waving from the front door, "See you guys later!"

Mason and Corey waved, while Liam said, "Bye David!" The door thudded shut, leaving the four boys and Jenna.

"Hi Theo, sorry we didn't wake you up," Liam greeted, "you just looked so peaceful." Theo smiled at the comment, and Mason beckoned for him to come and eat. On his way to the island they were sitting at, Jenna quickly pulled him into a tight hug.

"Oh, you poor thing! You haven't slept in a long time. _Awwwwww!_ " She exclaimed while squeezing the boy even tighter. Theo struggled to breathe, letting out a big gasp.

"Mom, he can't breathe!" Liam exclaimed. Jenna quickly released her grip on Theo, smiling.

"Oh, sorry dear!" she said while straightening out his shirt, happiness appearing on everyone's faces. "Well, lunch is ready when you want to eat it. Have as much as you want!" she said, sympathy in her puppy-dog eyes. "I'm heading to my work shift now, I should be home at 7:00. Have fun!"

"Bye mom!" Liam said, hugging her.

"Bye Mrs. Geyer!" Mason, Corey and Theo chorused.

The door closed shut, Theo grabbed some of the pasta Mrs. Geyer had made them, and sat down. "So, what are we doing today?" Mason asked them.

"Well, at 3:00 I promised to take Hayden out, but recently she's been a bit of a bitch..." Liam said, referring to the pack meeting. Theo winced a little. "How's your nose doing, anyway?"

"It's healed now. I'm lucky I got the blood off last night before your mom saw. She'd have gone crazy," Theo replied, "Not that I'm complaining."

Mason snickered, then said to Liam, "You should go Li. You've both calmed down and I think you should talk about it. You want her on our side. Besides, ignoring her will only make things between you worse." Corey nodded.

"Well, if you think so. Are you gonna be okay, Theo?" Liam asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine here," Theo responded.

"Actually, we can take him with us," Corey suddenly said. "Mason and I are going to the aquarium, and Theo should join us! If he wants to, of course."

"Yeah, Theo, come! It'll be fun!" Mason added.

"Sounds like a plan." Theo said, smiling.

"Alright, sounds like a day then!" Liam exclaimed.

The boys ate lunch, played video games, talked, and before Liam knew it, his phone buzzed at 2:50, saying 🕒 **REMINDER: Hayden, 3:00**. "Alright guys, I've gotta go, bye!" Liam said, sitting up and walking to the door from the living room. The other boys said goodbye and Liam walked to his car. He was happy to have his car back. His mom needed to use it to drive to work because her car broke down and her and David went to different shifts, but now she got it back, meaning Liam got _his_ car back.

He hopped into the driver’s seat, and went off.

Theo saw him leave, and felt a slight pain in his stomach. He didn’t know why, but he didn’t like the fact that he was hanging out with Hayden. However, he snapped out of his thoughts as Mason tapped him on the shoulder, saying something about the aquarium. Before he knew it, the three of them drove off in Mason’s car, with instructions to Beacon Hills Aquarium blasting from Mason’s phone. But with all of this going on, Theo still wondered about why he felt this way, and why he was able to sleep that night, and why everything changed after the war. And lastly, why everything related to...

Liam?


	14. Make-up Sex

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hayden and Liam get a bit steamy- but Theo’s getting in the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uh my first smut, very weird to write. NOT BAD, but weird. anyway lol, hope u enjoy. It’s the first smut I’ve written but I hope it’s good! 
> 
> Thank u, loves, have a great day!

**A/n: WARNING- SMUT AHEAD ⚠️ (although not between Theo and Liam 😢)**

Liam drove to Hayden's house. It took him about seven minutes. He didn't know what they were gonna do- originally he had planned to take her to a restaurant, but ever since last night, things had gotten a little tense- who was he kidding? It was tenser than a rubber band stretched six feet apart. The uncertainty was what scared Liam the most. Hayden was volatile and competitive. She was going to be angry at him already, but now that Theo's moved in...God, Liam didn't even wanna think about that.

He pulled up to the front of her house. It was slightly gray with a white roof. A house that felt like another home to him suddenly felt like a stranger. He knocked on the brown door, feeling nervous. The golden knob turned slightly, and he heard the unlatching sound of the lock right before his eyes met his girlfriend's brown eyes. "Hey, Hayden," he said quietly.

"Hey babe!" Hayden responded, unnaturally cheery. Liam raised his brows for a second, but quickly recovered. "So, what are we gonna do?" she asked excitedly.

"Oh...well-uh," he stuttered out, wondering what he should say. Eventually, he decided on saying, "Well, actually I was hoping to talk to you...about last night."

Hayden's face dropped and she sighed. "I was kinda hoping to forget about that. We're never gonna agree, Li. What's the point?"

Liam got slightly angry as he stepped into the house and took off his shoes. " _The point is_ that Theo was wrongfully hurt. And that you _wanted_ it to happen," he accused, pointing a finger at her.

Hayden looked at Liam and crossed her arms. Then she relaxed a bit. "Liam," she said softly, "I meant: what's the point in fighting about something we will never agree about. If I could potentially be swayed into believing your side of the story, I would most certainly love to talk to you. But I think we both know there is zero chance of what's happening."

Liam sighed. It was true. Hayden was never gonna believe him. It didn't make him feel better that her opinion of Theo was out of his control. It made him angry. But, before he could think about it, Hayden connected her lips to his. He recognized everything about the touch. Her lips were soft and light, but still carried force. He leaned into it and smiled. Although, something didn't sit right when she continued kissing him.

"Why don't we forget about Theo..." she whispered sultrily, disconnecting her lips from his, "and focus on getting to my room?"

Liam nodded, but he still felt weird. He tried to forget about Theo as they headed up the stairs, but he couldn't. And a part of him...didn't want to.

They made it up to Hayden's room, and Hayden promptly locked the door and took off her shirt in one swift motion. She took Liam's hand and pressed it to her left breast. A touch once so familiar, now so foreign. She moaned slightly, moving his hand down her body, until he finally reached in between her jean shorts. She let out a hot moan, which Liam kissed into. However, his hand didn't move, as Hayden had expected to.

"How about this?" Hayden said slowly, when she realized Liam wasn't going to move his hand, probably because he was still thinking about Theo, "Why don't I give you a blowjob?" She took off her shorts and unclipped her bra, letting it fall to the ground. Liam nodded slowly, smiling. His head lowered as he kissed between her breasts, moving to each one, biting her erect nipples. She gasped, slightly pushing his head into her body. She dropped to her knees, undoing his belt and pulling his pants down. Liam took off his shirt and let it fall near her discarded bra.

Liam stepped out of his pants, which had pooled at his ankles. Hayden peeled off his boxers, not breaking the eye contact between them. As he got rid of them, she took his 9'', semi-hard dick into her hand. It was slightly veiny, and the tip was slightly dripping pre-cum. Liam groaned as Hayden slowly shoved the length into her experienced mouth. Her tongue swirled around the tip of his penis, and worked its way to 3/4 of the length: the most she could fit. She began bobbing her head around his length. One of Liam's hands flew to her black hair, tugging it. He let out an animalistic groan as he began face-fucking her. His dick was rock hard now, he was highly aroused, and he wouldn't last long. And yet, he couldn't focus on what was going on. He opened his eyes, and looked down at Hayden. But she wasn't there.

Instead, looking up at him was none other than Theodore Charlie Raeken. He raised his eyebrows suddenly, wondering what had just happened. He blinked, only to be greeted by a sight of a slightly confused Hayden sucking his dick. "Nothing, babe," he said, "you're just doing so good." She smiled. "God, I'm not gonna last much longer, babe." However, when he realized it was Hayden who was sucking his cock, he felt a little awkward. _What was going on?_ He decided to pretend it was Theo again, just to see what would happen. He closed his eyes, imagining it was Theo whose mouth he was about to cum into.

His knees suddenly buckled, and he let out a loud moan. Hayden smirked, thinking it was her who had caused such a reaction. But Liam knew better. Thinking of Theo sucking his dick had brought him a mile closer to orgasming. God, this was so bad. What the fuck was going on? That was it, no more Theo. He would simply think of his precious girlfriend, whom he loved so much, sucking him off. Good.

"Ah-ahhh, Hayden, I'm not gonna last..." he groaned out softly, pulling her head closer. She moved her hand to jerk him off where his mouth couldn't reach. It set him off. " _~Ahhh~!_ " he moaned loudly, streaks of cum shooting inside Hayden's throat as she moaned against his softening cock. However, when he finally came, despite everything he told himself, despite everything that had just happened...there was only one thing on his mind:

Theo.


	15. After-Sex and Aquariums

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just some sickeningly cute aquarium fluff between Corey, Mason and Theo. Also, Hayden makes a big discovery...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhh 700 hits ty! Just went to the aquarium so I’m feeling inspired. 
> 
> Hope u enjoy!

"Ooooh, look at the jellyfish!" Theo exclaimed, pointing at the yellowish globs. "They're so cool!" His face was pressed to the glass, hands on either side of his head, looking like a kid pressed to the front glass of a candy store. Mason and Corey giggled, taking a video of the chimera. Theo looked back and let out a childish, "Hey!" while pouting.

Mason cackled and continued to film, asking, "Theo, what are you looking at?"

"These are Bahama jellyfish!" Theo said, suddenly ten times more happy than he was a moment ago. **(A/n: the names of these animals are totally made up cuz I forgot the actual ones sry 😂)** He pointed to the tank excitedly, and Mason zoomed in on the jellyfish.

They continued traveling around the aquarium, Theo narrating the video joyously, saying, "Here are some stingrays!" or, "look at these puffins!" or, "check out these iridescent fish!" or "OOOO! AN EEL!" or, "Aww, a baby seahorse! _Awww!_ There are _two_ baby seahorses!"

"Theo," Corey chuckled, mid-video, "you make it seem like you've never been to an aquarium before."

"Because I haven't," he replied, like it was obvious. Mason and Corey gasped.

"That makes so much sense!" Mason said, finally getting it.

"What does?" Theo asked confusedly.

"Uh, Theo, you haven't acted like yourself ever since we walked in here," Corey said like it was obvious, "to put it lightly."

"Yeah, you sound like a kid," Mason added.

"Do _not_ ," Theo said, offended, crossing his arms. "I sound normal."

"It's not like it's a bad thing," Mason said, still holding the camera. "It's kinda cute," he admitted.

"I am _not_ cute," Theo demanded, but suddenly BOLTED to the nearest cage. "OOOOO! SHARKS! YIPPEE!" He yelled, staring in awe at the tank. He suddenly remembered who he was and where he was and quickly said, "Uh, I mean...sharks. Cool," looking down at his shoes and crossing his arms.

Mason and Corey couldn't stifle their laughter. "Typical bad boy Theo," Mason teased. Theo humphed, but decided to go back to staring at the sharks. After all, it was no secret that he liked the animals anymore.

Mason, Corey and Theo made it to the last and most famous exhibit of all the aquarium: The gift shop. "Ooooh! Can we go look in there? Please?"

Mason and Corey looked at him shocked, then nodded slowly. Theo ran into the gift shop, looking at everything from T-shirts to toys. Not only were the adults looking at him strange, but even the kids too. Mason and Corey followed him around. Mason finally asked, "So, what do you want? I can pay."

Theo looked at him flabbergasted for a second, but quickly said, "You don't have to buy me anything."

"But I want to," Mason responded.

"But you don't need to," Theo said back.

"But I can," Mason responded in monotone.

"But-" Theo was about to argue, but Corey cut him off.

"Would you two idiots stop? Theo, Mason can do this all day. Just let him buy you something," Corey said, exasperated.

"If you insist," Theo said hesitantly.

"I do," Mason responded, "now what do you want?"

Theo smiled shyly a bit, leading them to one of the tables with the biggest crowd of children. "I want one of these, please." Theo said softly.

Mason and Corey stared at what he pointed, then at each other, then smiled. Mason turned back to the stand, picked up what Theo wanted, and then turned back to the chimera. "You want _this?_ " he asked incredulously. Because what was in his hand, was none other than a small, Bambi-eyed orange octopus stuffed animal.

"Yeah," Theo said, looking at him, "unless you don't wanna buy it."

Mason stared at Theo for a second, then looked at Corey with a look that you would make if you saw an adorable puppy, then finally cleared his throat and checked the price tag. "It's only $10. It's yours."

Theo broke into a contagious smile, infecting both the other boys. They checked it out, despite the strange look they got from the cash register, and headed outside. Now out of the presence of other people, Theo began playing with each of the legs of the stuffy. Mason secretly brought his phone up, and hit the record button.

"It's so cute!" Theo said, muffled, snuggling his head next to the creature. Corey and Mason stole adoring glances from each other before they all got into the car.

Liam and Hayden were cuddling up next to each other on Hayden's bed while watching "Jessie" on Disney+. Hayden was asleep on Liam's shoulder, although Liam was having a hard time resting. What was going on? Why Theo? What was he feeling? He was straight, right? Wh-

_*buzz*_

His thoughts were interrupted by his phone going off on the side table next to the bed. Hayden woke up suddenly. Typically the sound of a text message coming through wouldn't set a person off, but she had werewolf hearing and the vibrations against the wood amplified the sound more. "I'll get it," she said. Liam didn't think much of it, until he realized that he was hiding a lot from her. He was too late. She picked up the phone, stared at it, and said, "Uh, Liam, why did Theo just text you saying, 'back from aquarium, at home'?"

"Well, uh-," he stuttered out. He then sighed. He would've loved to do this once he was prepared, but now would have to do. "I invited Theo to live with me for now."


	16. Shower Thoughts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam gets kicked out from Hayden’s, but whether or not that’s a good thing, he can’t decide. Meanwhile, Theo reluctantly comes to terms with his thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sry I haven’t posted in a while oops I’ve been busy! But thank y’all for 920 views AHHHH! 
> 
> Anyway hope u guys enjoy!

"GET! OUT!" Hayden screamed, pushing Liam out of the house. As you can imagine, Hayden didn't take the news very well. They didn't break up, luckily. _Was it lucky?_ Liam asked himself. _What?!_ He shook the thought out of his head. He loved Hayden! God, this was so complicated. Speaking of complicated, now he had to see Theo. This was gonna be awkward. However, Liam was looking forward to it. He enjoyed the thought of seeing Theo. And besides, Theo didn't know that Liam had orgasmed to the thought of getting blown by him. Right?

It was now 5:46 PM, and Liam had just made it to his house. He saw Mason's car next to Theo's truck, meaning the other boys were home. As he walked into the house, he saw Theo snuggling a stuffed octopus on the living room couch and Mason and Corey snickering at the sight, earning a glare from the chimera. Liam almost fainted at the sight. It was so cu- _no, NOT CUTE, BAD LIAM!_ Liam said to himself. He managed to make it into the living room, where the three boys noticed him. Theo quickly tossed the octopus to the other side, and unwrinkled his T-shirt. He coughed. "Liam," he said importantly, as if he hadn't been cuddling the life out of the stuffed cephalopod.

"Don't let me interrupt you," Liam teased, earning a frown from the other boy. "Anyways, how was the aquarium?"

"Oh, it was great!" Mason exclaimed while pulling out his phone. "We have some videos, wanna see?" Theo's eyes widened.

"Sure!" Liam said excitedly.

Theo grabbed Mason's phone. "N-no, you don't really need to-" he stuttered out, but was interrupted by Liam grabbing the phone out of his hands. "...okay, then."

Liam looked at the boys for a second, before Mason explained bluntly, "Theo doesn't want you to see because he was nerdgasming at the entire thing."

"Dude!" Theo exclaimed while Liam and Corey snickered.

Theo nearly died of embarrassment from hearing himself narrate the trip adorably excited throughout the video. Liam almost died too, but not because of embarrassment. He could barely suppress the "Awe!" that bubbled up in his throat from time to time; and let's just say it wasn't because of the animals.

However, the animals were very cool. Theo's narration helped him follow along as he described all the animals in detail. In fact, they were so cool it was no wonder why Theo was fangirling the entire time. "Wow, that's pretty nice," Liam said.

"I know, right!" Theo exclaimed suddenly, then quickly slumped back in his chair as the others laughed at him. He pouted.

"God, you're so cute," Liam suddenly said. He snapped his head up, panicking, and judging by the looks of the others, they heard it.

"Well then, thank you, Liam," Theo said, smirking. Liam composed himself, and rolled his eyes. Mason and Corey exchanged glances.

"Anyway, Mason and I better be heading home," Corey said. "See you guys tomorrow!" The two boys headed out, earning goodbyes from both the chimera and the werewolf.

"Hey man, I'm gonna go take a shower," Theo said after Mason and Corey left.

"Ok, see ya," Liam responded, patting Theo on the back. Theo walked up the stairs, heading into his shower. As he took off his clothes, he turned on the hot water. He walked behind the curtain, into the shower, thinking.

_Why did he like it when Liam called him cute? And furthermore, what has he been feeling for Liam in general?_ He looked down.

New question: _Why did he have a semi-erection when Liam patted him on the shoulder?_

Theo wasn't an idiot like Liam: he knew what was going on. In fact, he knew it from the moment in the elevator. He just didn't want to admit it.

Theo sighed.

He liked Liam, didn't he?


	17. Equations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Theo’s having a hard time focusing in math, and Liam is forced to talk to Hayden.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys sorry I didn’t post for a week, but I’ve been busy. I’ll be posting faster from now on tho! Also tysm for 1000 hits!!
> 
> Anyway hope u enjoy!

It was the next day, May 30. It was currently 8:00 AM- 1st period. Liam sat next to Corey in history class. Liam was excited. Today they were analyzing and comparing Greek mythology and Greek life! Corey rolled his eyes at the squealing werewolf.

Theo sat in his math class. It was boring. Not hard, just boring. He was the smartest kid in his class, being the senior among a group of juniors. Being with the Dread Doctors had given him an exceptionally high IQ as well, so it was fair to say he was excruciatingly, mind-numbingly bored. He had finished his test that was supposed to take the rest of class in five minutes, so he sat there, pencil in hand, but nothing coming out. He stared at the board, mind drifting. His hand began moving slowly. He didn't want to look down to see what he wrote. He didn't have to; he already knew. He looked down. Among the other numerical answers laid another answer, only in words. And as sure as he was that his answers to the math problems were correct, he was even more sure that the answer he just wrote for his life problem was correct. He silently sighed, for on his paper was one word: Liam.

It all made sense. He punched Liam because he liked him, he helped Liam because he liked him, he saved Liam because he liked him, he teased Liam because he liked him...

He _changed_ , because he liked him.

He wouldn't do anything about it, of course. Not only would Liam laugh and punch Theo in the face, but there was also the matter of Hayden, not to mention the pack. He pushed the thoughts out of his head. _There's no point getting upset over things you can't fix,_ Theo thought.

And yet, for the next thirty minutes of 1st period, his mind kept wandering back to the forbidden subject: Liam.

It was third period now. _Two more periods until lunch!_ Liam thought. His history class was amazing- he got 100% on the last test, his teacher said he would love to write a recommendation letter for him (Liam hadn't even brought it up!), and he got partnered with Corey for the final analysis project. Now he sat in English, with Corey and Mason. They sat next to each other, Liam in the middle desk and Corey and Mason on the side desks next to him.

"Hey man," Mason said when Liam sat down. Corey was already in his seat as well.

"Hey guys," Liam said, "how come you're here so early?"

"We got dismissed early from second period because we finished the math test early," Corey explained. Liam nodded in understanding. "Anyway, how'd it go with Hayden yesterday? We forgot to ask."

Liam froze in his seat. Oh boy, this wasn't gonna be easy to explain. "Well, it went well for the most part. Let's just say...we've come to terms on the pack meeting," he said hesitantly, blushing.

"Oh really," Corey asked, smirking, "'cause I think you just _came_."

"Corey!" Liam yelped, smacking the chameleon-chimera on the arm. Mason and Corey smirked. "Yes, that happened. We didn't really agree on it, though. She said that it would just be one of the things we would disagree on."

"How do you feel about that?" Mason asked, concerned.

"Well, normally I'd feel fine about it, but most of the times we disagree it's about pizza toppings or movies. Not about another human's existence." He sighed. "I just...want the pack to accept him. I can see he's trying to be a good person, especially after the hunt. And on top of that he was homeless and was in hell, and...I guess I'm just starting to realize he's not as bad as we set him out to be."

"Ya man, I'm with you. Hey, at least you have us, right?" Mason said.

Liam smiled. "Right."

"What happened after the sex?" Corey said bluntly, catching the quick attention of the girl sitting next to them. She smirked and went back to her work as Liam blushed and glared at Corey.

"Well...then Theo texted me saying he was back, and Hayden saw," he said, the looks on his friend's faces assuring him how things ended.

"Yikes," Corey winced.

"Yup. She kicked me out. We didn't break up or anything, but...it'll be awkward seeing her next period." Liam explained.

Mason and Corey patted Liam on the back. "Well, you're gonna have to talk to her sometime. Might as well be now," Mason said.

Mason and Corey have Liam tips on how to talk to her until the bell rang and class started. It was a nice forty-five minutes, until the bell rang again and the dreaded time came:

10:25 AM.

Math class.

He rushed to his locker to grab his folders and made it in class right at 10:27 AM. At 11:15 AM, he was free from Hayden. He could do this. He plopped in the seat next to the girl. Hayden looked at him, no emotion on her face.

"Liam," she said in a monotonous tone.

"Hayden," he said back. He sighed. "Hayden, I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I made the decision only the night of the pack meeting. There was no _time_ to tell you! I wanted to plan out how I told you, especially since I knew you wouldn't take it well. I promise, if I had time, I would've found a better way to-"

"Do you think I'm mad because of how I found out? Or that you didn't tell me?" Hayden asked.

Liam nodded. "God, Liam, you really are stupid. I'm not mad about _how_ you told me about what you did, I'm just mad about what you did. I mean, Theo? Living in your house? How the hell are your parents okay with this? How are _you_ okay with this?"

"Theo and I are friends now," Liam said, "and my parents really like him, and they knew he was homeless, so they decided to keep him. He's not planning any revenge, he's not torturing us, he's not hurting us in any way, he's just trying to survive. I wish all of you could see that."

Hayden sighed. "You know what, Liam? Let's just...forget it. No more talking about Theo. At least, not like this. I'm tired of fighting you."

Liam looked at her. She was smiling. Normally that smile would be contagious to him, but right now, he could only manage a fake smile. God, what was happening? "Alright. This time, for real."

Hayden nodded. The bell rang. It was 10:30 AM and class was starting. This was good Liam thought. He had sorted things out with Hayden, and next period was lunch! He was starving, and he got to eat lunch with his pack!

Shit.

He forgot.

The pack.


	18. Osmosis, More Like Us-mosis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Theo and Liam have a little bit of “chemistry”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BAHAHAHAH the puns in this chapter’s title and summary are overwhelming. sry it’s a bit long I had to fit a lot in oops
> 
> anyway I hope u enjoy! ❤️

The bell had rung. It was 11:15 AM. Liam winced as he heard the ringing sound. _Great_ , he thought, _this'll be fun_. He ran out of the class with the rest of the students, and went to his locker and grabbed his lunch money. He wasn't hungry though. His lunch period had changed from before 4th period to after 4th period, and he wasn't used to eating at this time. Not to mention he was feeling nauseous from the apprehension he felt about telling the pack. Just his luck. The one time the school switches up their lunch schedules and he STILL gets stuck with the entire pack. As if that wasn't bad enough, Theo, Mason, and Corey have lunch together, which made Liam feel bad. Not that he was jealous about not being with them, just frustrated. What were the chances, really? Beacon Hills High School is really small, so there are only three lunch blocks: before 4th period, after 4th period, and after 5th period. Theo, Mason and Corey were in the 5th period block, while he was in the first one. There were about a thousand students in the school, each with a 1/3 chance of being in any block, despite age. That would mean that he had a-

As he did the math in his head, he completely zoned out until he hit a wall. To be more specific, the wall right next to the cafeteria. _Oh goodie_. He walked into the room and instantly found his friends. They looked at him. He walked over and sat down in the spot between Lydia and Stiles. "Hey, man," Scott said.

"Hey," Liam said back.

"About Monday night," Scott hesitantly said, "we-"

"Yah, about that," Liam suddenly interrupted, "Theo's living with me now."

Stiles choked on his broccoli. Lydia gasped. Malia growled. Scott damn near fainted.

"Before you give me you're dramatic opinions, me and my parents are okay with it, and nothing you can say will make me change my mind," Liam said confidently.

"WHY?" Stiles yelled, scaring the whole cafeteria.

"Because he was homeless and had nowhere to go. Hayden's okay with it, Mason and Corey are okay with it, I'm okay with it, my parents are okay with it-"

"No, we're not," Scott and Stiles said in unison.

" _Biological_ parents," Liam clarified, "so why can't you guys be okay with it?"

"Because we're the ones who've been _killed_ by him," Scott said.

"Scott, I love you, but you're not changing my mind," Liam said firmly.

The pack tensed up and silenced. "Fine," Malia spat out.

"Good," Liam said back with the same tone. The pack was really getting on his nerves.

Liam got up and bought his lunch. They ate in silence. After an excruciating 45 minutes, it was 12:05 PM, Liam's 5th period.

It was 12:05 PM, lunch time for Theo. He met Corey and Mason there in the lunch room. Unfortunately, Liam wasn't in the same lunch block as them. But, two is much better than nothing. _Except when the person whose missing is the one you're in love with_ , Theo thought. But, luckily, 6th period was biology, and Corey, Mason, him and Liam all had it together. He loved biology with a passion. When he was under tutoring with the Dread Doctors, it was his favorite subject, and he excelled in it too.

He and his friends talked about various subjects, continuing their conversation about DNCE's Cake by the Ocean, when all of a sudden it was 12:55 PM, and the bell rang.

All four boys made their way into biology, Liam coming from his engineering class and the others from lunch.

The four of them sat at their black, plastic tables. Corey and Mason say together at one, Liam and Theo at the other, right in front. Seeing Liam made Theo feel warm, a feeling he hadn't really felt since Hell. He liked it. "Hey man," Theo said.

Liam greeted him. "How'd it go with the pack and Hayden?" Theo asked. He was a blunt guy, and while most of his personality had changed, that part didn't.

Liam coughed, then said slowly, "Uh-we-well, they're not very happy about it...but they're not too angry?"

Theo rolled his eyes at how unsure the werewolf was. God, he was in love with an idiot. "Better than nothing," he said sarcastically. Liam shoved his shoulder a little. The bell rang.

"Good morning, class!" Mrs. Jethro greeted. Today, we're going to review a new topic: Advanced Osmosis!"

Theo's eyes lit up, and he let out a weird, unnatural sound from his throat, instantly shutting up the second his classmates' eyes laid on him.

Liam's eyes, on the other hand, almost starting crying. He remembered learning osmosis in 7th grade. It was hell. Now he had to _advanced_ osmosis? Biology was his weakest point. He didn't like science- it was confusing. There is no straight-forward answer but at the same time there is a straight-forward answer? What the hell was that about? Not to mention, you had to be really careful with beakers, you had to wear gloves, eye goggles and aprons, and you couldn't play around. _THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT OF CHEMICALS!_ Liam snapped out of his thoughts as his teacher handed him the worksheet.

"Work with your own lab partner and another group as well. You should have four people in your group in total," the teacher instructed to the class.

Theo and Liam were already lab partners, and as usual, they picked Mason and Corey to work with. Mason and Corey moved their chairs to the front of Liam's table, so that Liam and Mason were facing each other and Corey and Theo were facing each other.

Once Mrs. Jethro handed out the worksheets, she said, "This experiment is worth fifty points for each student, but the instructions are pretty relaxed. They are pretty vague though, so you'll have to work with your group to figure it out. I'll come by once your group announces that they've finished, and I'll check to see if your group got the experiment right! Make sure to write your hypotheses as well, they'll count for seven points!"

_50 POINTS?_ Liam was freaking out. Theo could sense the worry rolling off of him, and like any sane person would do, he patted him on the shoulder and said, "Hey, despite the fact that this could get you benched on the lacrosse team and could cause risk to you getting into college, at least you have a girlfriend!"

Liam stared at him in horror. Mason and Corey looked very confused. "What was that for?!" Liam exclaimed.

Theo looked at him a bit confused, and said dumbly, "It was supposed to make you feel better."

"WELL, IT _DIDN'T_!" Liam yelled, causing the teacher to harshly shush him and classmates to laugh.

"At lest he's trying?" Mason offered. Liam rolled his eyes.

"This is horrible. I'm shit at biology," Liam said in defeat. Before the war, Theo and Liam would sit next to each other, either wanting to punch each other, or in silence. But now they're friends, Theo realized.

"I'll help you," Theo said suddenly. Liam looked at him slightly wide-eyed.

Liam remembered that Theo was apparently good at biology, or so Scott and Stiles told him. "Really?"

"Yeah, we are working together after all," Theo said happily.

"...Ok," Liam agreed.

They worked through the instructions quickly:

Conduct an experiment to figure out what happens if the mystery object given is placed in the mystery liquid given. Relate your answers and hypotheses back to our lesson on osmosis. Each team's mystery object is different, but he liquid is the same. Not only will you conduct the experiment, but you will also need to find out what the mystery liquid and object are based on what you've learned in class.

Liam panicked. He was gonna fail, and he was gonna be benched and never get into college- _Thanks for that, Theo_. But suddenly, Theo's hand grazed his accidentally, and he felt calm again.

Next, they created a hypothesis based on the information given:

The mystery object has a 5% salt concentration, therefore a higher solute concentration, while the mystery liquid tested to only have a 3.5% salt concentration. With this information, we believe that the molecules from the liquid will go into the object, causing it to swell.

_Well, that wasn't so bad_ , Liam thought. He understood what he wrote this time, at least. Now they had to actually do the experiment. They got their equipment on, and for the most part it was going well. Until procedure 4.

Procedure 4: Swirl the liquid around the mystery object until a small layer of bubbles appear. This signals the semipermeable membrane is at work! Remember Lesson 18 about swirling the right way, because this step is very important.

What? Liam didn't know what to do. He didn't remember that lesson, he was bad at biology, he had to do advanced biology, his very future was riding on this experiment, his lab partners' futures were riding on this experiment, this was one of the most important procedures, and “lucky” him, he was the one assigned to it.

Liam was confused, and therefore, frustrated. Theo could sense it. Corey could too. Even Mason could sense it. Theo knew it wasn't just because of the experiment. It must've been meeting up with the pack and Hayden, and his IED wasn't helping either. Theo looked at the teacher inconspicuously. She was typing on her computer. She wasn't paying any attention to them.

"Here," Theo whispered, "let me help." Liam looked at him, then at a busy Mrs. Jethro, and then down at the beaker. Mrs. Jethro wasn't a bad teacher per say, she was just strict. She assigns everyone a procedure to do in an experiment, and if someone was to help you with that procedure, it would be deemed "cheating" on her part.

"You can't do it for me, Mrs. Jethro will fail us," Liam whispered back.

"I'm not going to do it for you, I'm just going to help you," the chimera responded with a wink. Mason and Corey twisted their bodies so that Theo and Liam were mostly out of their teacher's sight. They got back to their parts of the experiment. Theo eyed Mrs. Jethro one more time, craning his neck. Still busy. Good, he thought. Theo tightened his apron, then took the top of the stirring stick. Liam's heart skipped a beat. Why? Because already grasping the top of the stirring stick was Liam's hand as well.

You heard it right, folks.

Theo's left hand had clasped down onto Liam's left hand, glove on glove. Theo moved his and Liam's hand to the beaker, and dipped the stick in. They both were silent. Mason and Corey rose their heads up to see what was going on.

Mason inwardly fainted. Corey raised his eyebrows. They did not expect _that_. They turned back to their work, trying to look normal.

Meanwhile, Theo's hand guided the hand below his, showing Liam how to stir. After a couple seconds, Liam understood the pattern and how to stir it, yet Theo didn't let go. Liam looked up at he chimera, who looked back. For a moment, goggled eyes met goggled eyes, and they stared in silence for about two seconds, hands still moving.

Then suddenly, Theo pulled the stick out, let go of Liam's hand, and said, "Alright, that's that."

Liam stood there, a bit shocked. _What had just happened?_ He looked down at his paper and remembered. _Right_ , he thought, _the procedure_.

It was nothing more.

_Right?_


	19. Silent Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Theo has to deal with yet another nightmare, but this time it doesn’t go so well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MILD TRIGGER WARNING! Theo’s dream is about a surgery, and it gets a little bloody but not too much! If bloody surgeries are a sensitive subject for you, I recommend reading with caution! 
> 
> Hope u enjoy! ❤️❤️

Biology had ended, and Liam was excited, to say the least. They had finished the experiment first and actually got the answers correct: The mystery object were a plant cell (Liam forgot what type) and the mystery liquid was just water. Mrs. Jethro was very impressed with them, but also surprised. Liam had never finished first in biology, and had never gotten an answer correct so quickly. With the others, she expected this, especially with Theo. Theo was the star student in biology: he was really good at it, and Mrs. Jethro had already written him a recommendation letter for college. Liam wondered why he was so exceptional at it, as well as everything else in school.

It suddenly occurred to Liam that Theo was pretty good at... _everything_. He can't remember the last time Theo didn't do something well, expect for his mission of killing Scott and taking over the pack. Liam suspected his perfection had to do with the Dread Doctors, though he didn't want to ask Theo until they knew each other more; he didn't want to trigger him.

It was now 1:50 PM. Liam and Corey were in lacrosse practice for 7th period, while Theo was in history and Mason in Latin class.

Lacrosse practice went well for Liam: he managed to win his team the majority of the points, and Corey scored a lot on his team too. Theo got straight A's in history, and Mason was the first one to finish the exam in Latin class. Mason and Corey walked to the ice cream store after class with Liam and Theo. After the talked and ate, they parted ways, Theo and Liam leaving in Theo's truck, Mason and Corey walking back to Mason's house.

Liam didn't dare bring up what happened in biology, nor did Theo. They both got into the car, and sat in silence while Theo put on his seatbelt. They drove for a while in comfortable silence, when suddenly-

"Thank you."

Liam looked over at the chimera questioningly. "For what?" Liam asked.

"For defending me against the pack. For...everything, really."

Liam stared at the blue-brown eyed chimera. He'd never seen such a vulnerable side of Theo. It made him feel calm. Special. He was probably the only one to see him like this, and he liked that. "No problem," Liam said, quickly adding, "you deserve it." Theo looked back at the boy.

A smile appeared on his face as he turned back to the road. A smile appeared on Liam's too.

It was now 10:00 PM. Theo thought that with everything that happened today, he would be able to get a good night's sleep. After all, all he thought about today was Liam, so all he thought about tonight would be Liam too, right?

Wrong.

Theo kept his nightmares under control during the past two nights he spent at the Geyer's house. He even slept peacefully the first night. He knew he was in love with Liam, but he didn't know the werewolf had the ability to do the impossible. It was probably because he was near Liam.

However, last night, which he spent alone, was hell. Literally. He once again dreamt of Tara ripping her black-red heart out of his chest. He stared at it in shock and pain. It was still beating in her hand. He woke up that night with a start. Liam and the others were still sleeping, so he had to cover his mouth to suppress the after-shock scream that wanted to bubble up out of him. Instead, he stared out his window, all while silently crying, staring into the depths of the night.

This night, he wasn't so lucky. He went to his room at 10:00 PM, after playing video games and studying in Liam's room. He took a quick shower and it was lights out by 10:30 PM, Wednesday. He went to sleep, thoughts of Liam and him holding hands still fresh in his mind, the memories he shared with the boy circling around in his head. Fast forward to about 2:45 AM, Thursday. Theo was twisting and turning in his sheets. He wasn't dreaming of Tara this time. Well, not _just_ Tara, at least. He dreamt of the Dread Doctors too, and the pack, including Liam. They were in the surgery room of the Dread Doctor's lab. Liam and the pack were in the corner of the room, Malia growling, and the rest of the pack laughing at him. Including Liam, which is what hurt the most. He was eight again, restrained to the surgery table. The Dread Doctors were cutting open his chest, so they could put Tara's heart in. Theo didn't like talking about this procedure. Some of the pack had asked him about how it felt. He told them he didn't remember because he was drugged while they did it. That was a lie. In reality, it was one of the most painful moments of his life.

He sat there, helpless, while the Dread Doctors cut him open. Then, all of a sudden, Tara appeared next to them, and suddenly pulled her heart out of him. The Dread Doctors stole it back, putting it back in. Tara took it right out. It went on forever, one moment in him, the next out. All the while, the pack was laughing and growling at him. Liam was.

Between his lovesickness, the tender memories of Tara and the Dread Doctors, and the gruesomeness of the whole situation, Theo broke. He burst out crying and screaming. He felt awake, but he couldn't open his eyes. He knew it was a nightmare, but he couldn't get out of it. It was Hell. 

Liam's eyes snapped open, suddenly fully alert. He adjusted his brain into being awake, and shortly after his werewolf abilities came into play. His ears were immediately greeted to the screaming and crying coming from the guest room. _Theo_.


	20. Anchored

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Theo comes to a realization after he wakes up. Liam is special to him in a way that others aren't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> poor baby Theo! Anyway, there's some good fluff in this chapter to drown out the angst lol. to anyone who skipped the last chapter, all you really need to know is that Theo has really bad nightmares about Tara and the Dread Doctors and the pack, and he normally manages to keep quiet when he has them. However, this night he wasn't because his dream was really bad, and Liam heard him.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Liam bolted out of his bedroom and ran the couple of feet from his room to Theo's. He opened the door, only to see, in horror, the sight of Theo gripping the sheets tightly, rolling around in his cold sweat, screaming, "Help! Somebody help me! Tara, please! Everybody, stop!"

Liam panicked. Now that the door was open, his parents could probably hear the noises too. He heard them shuffling in their bed, not processing fully what was going on, intending to go back to sleep. This was his chance to get them awake. "Mom, Dad, help!"

Jenna and David turned in their sleep, hearing noises but ignoring them. It wasn't until a sharp scream of, "Mom, Dad, help!" pierced their ears that they became fully awake, and rushed towards their son in the hallway. They were also greeted by the sight of a flailing, sweating Theo, begging for help. Jenna let out a gasp-like yelp.

"Liam, I'm going to get a glass of water to wake him up, you and David try shaking him!" Jenna said, racing out of the room.

David rushed besides the boy. "Theo, can you hear me? Theo, wake up!" He shook the boy, but Theo didn't wake up.

His body still shook violently, but his screams became softer. "It's okay, you don't have to stop," Theo whispered. Then, his body settled down a bit. _Maybe it worked?_ Liam thought.

But that idea was thrown out the window as Theo started back up again with a scream of agony ripped from his throat. His body jolting, tears streaming his face. "HELP! I-I can't breathe!"

"Dad, quick! Go get some smelling salts or something!" Liam yelled quickly.

David rushed out of the room, just as Jenna came back in. "David, what's wrong with him?!"

"I don't know, he stopped for a while, but then it got worse! I'm going to the store, I'll pick up an inhaler. This is probably an episode of night terror."

David left the house, while Jenna looked at Theo and made a diagnosis. "This is probably night terror, Liam. I have a friend who works in this department, I'll call her. Stay with Theo, and tell me if anything worse happens!"

Liam stayed with Theo. The sight of Theo like this was painful to watch. He had to do something. Both his parents had gone. "Theo! Theo, snap out of it!" He was getting angry now. Really angry. So, he shifted. Not fully, but he was able onto the boy, halting most of the movement with his werewolf strength. His eyes glowed yellow and his fangs grew out, and he let out an animalistic growl, "THEO!"

Theo's body stopped suddenly, his screams silenced. Liam quickly composed himself back to a human, then sat on the bed next to him. Theo was still silently crying, whimpering a bit as well. Liam may be an idiot, but he knew that now was a time that Theo needed to be comforted.

He whispered into the other boy's ear. "Theo? Theo, please wake up. Focus on my voice, okay? You're going to be all right, it's not real. Theo, it's me, Liam. Please wake up. _For me._ "

Theo's nightmare was intruded by the soft pleading of a voice. It calmed him, but he didn't know whose it was. At least, not until, "Theo, it's me, Liam. Please wake up. _For me._ " That last line is what got to him. " _For me._ "

 _For him_ , Theo thought. _Wake up for him, Theo._

Theo suddenly jolted upright, eyes snapping open, gasping loudly. He composed himself, and wiped the tears off his face.

"Theo! Are you alright?" Liam asked worriedly. "Mom! Theo's awake!" he yelled.

Jenna Geyer rushed into the guest room, looking more worried than Liam had ever seen her. She felt Theo's forehead and took his pulse, wiping off some of the tears he had left. She pulled him in for a light hug. "Oh honey, are you alright?" she whispered. "We were so worried about you! Here, drink this," she said, handing him the cup of water she brought up. "I'll call David and tell him you're awake, let me get my phone."

As she left the room for a bit, Theo and Liam locked eyes. "Thank you," Theo said.

Liam looked at him, and asked incredulously, "Did _I_ wake you up?"

"You're a dumbass, you know that, Dunbar?" Liam snorted lightly. "Of course you woke me up."

"How?" Liam asked.

"I don't know," Theo lied. He had known Liam had some kind of calming effect on him ever since he got out of the ground. He put two and two together and it became seemingly obvious that Liam was his anchor. He was pretty damn sure he was Liam's too.

"Well, either way, you're awake now," Liam said, smiling. "What were you dreaming about?"

Theo's face dropped. The dreaded question. "...I'd rather not talk about it right now," he sighed, hoping the beta wouldn't be angry at him.

Instead, though, Liam rubbed his back and said, "Ok."

David got home in about five minutes, while Liam and Jenna were comforting Theo. Once they were all together, David and Jenna asked the same question. Theo didn't know how to respond- not only because he didn't want to, but also because Liam's parents didn't know about the supernatural.

Luckily, Liam jumped in, saying, "Let's let him rest for a bit, I don't think he wants to answer right now." Theo's heart skipped a beat when Liam said that, but it's been skipping beats ever since he woke up, so luckily, it didn't stand out.

Jenna and David comforted Theo a bit more. At around 3:50 AM, they went back to their room, wishing they boys a goodnight. Liam stayed for five minutes more, before heading back to his room. However, as he got to the doorway of Theo's room, he heard a, "Wait!" Liam turned around questioningly. "Could you...stay the night?" Theo asked vulnerably.

Liam's heart did a flip. Theo was too nervous to notice. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, I can do that," Liam said, smiling softly. He tucked himself in next to the relieved chimera. This was a side of Theo never seen before. He liked it, though. He really did.

David and Jenna got into bed together. Jenna was smiling up at David mischievously as he kissed her forehead. "What?" he asked.

"Did you hear Liam?" Jenna asked.

"No, why? What did he say?"

"...He called you Dad."


	21. Same Old Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Theo thinks of ways to explain his nightmare to the Geyer family, while Liam realizes his parent's love life is pretty dull.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, hope u enjoy this chapter!

Liam was sleeping on his side, facing away from Theo. He slowly opened his eyes, yawning quietly. It was about 6:05 AM, almost time to wake up. He looked at the boy next to him. Theo's hair was astray, a peaceful look was placed on his face, and he was snoring softly as daylight flooded into the room. Liam's heart skipped a beat. He looked beautiful. _WHAT? NO HE DIDN'T. DON'T BE A DUMBASS, DUNBAR. HE'S HIDEOUS._ Liam snapped out of his thoughts immediately. Liam decided to go back to sleep, turning around again to go back to his original position.

It was now 6:45 AM. Liam and Theo were _not_ cuddling. Never in a million years would they be cuddling. Liam just had hugged Theo's shirt tightly while Theo strung an arm around his torso and a leg in between Liam's. But that wasn't _cuddling_. Luckily, before Liam's mind could dwell on it any longer, his alarm went off. Liam shuffled out of the position- he didn't know why he didn't get out of Theo's hold earlier- and shook the other boy awake. Theo woke up slowly.

"G'morning," he muttered while rubbing his eyes.

"Hey," Liam replied, "we gotta get up now."

The boys got ready, and got into Theo's truck.

"How'd you sleep?" Theo asked once he started driving.

"Pretty well. How about you?" Liam asked in return.

"Good, I guess. Hard to sleep when... _that_ happens."

"Yeah," Liam said sympathetically, "but it's over now. You should've seen my nightmares when I was a kid. It was horrible. Lucky for both of us, it's over now."

_Yeah_ , Theo thought sarcastically, _"over"_.

They pulled up to the school. at 7:45 AM. It was Thursday, May 31st. Only eighteen more days of school. Theo walked into school with Liam, only to be greeted by a horrible sight:

Hayden. 

She ran up to him while Liam walked up to her, and she threw her arms around him. She pressed a kiss to his cheek. He smiled at her.

Theo growled, fangs lightly protruding, claws digging holes into his closed, clenched fists. His eyes were dangerously close to turning yellow, when all of a sudden, Mason and Corey appeared. They all said hello to one another, and headed their separate ways when the warning bell rang. 

Theo was worried. His love for Liam was now affecting not only his attention, but also his control over his chimera, something he'd manage to master. However, he pushed the thoughts away, instead trying to figure out how to explain what happened last night to Liam's family. He had to pretend that this was a one time thing- if they got that worried over it happening once, imagine how they'd feel if they knew it was recurring. What could he say it was about, though?

_Spiders? Heights?_ Theo contemplated. But then he realized, why should he say what others were afraid about when he could say something _he_ was afraid of? _My family._ The Geyer's already knew he didn't have a family. They could've guessed from the fact that Theo was homeless. He'd just say that he had a bad dream about his family, which was probably triggered by the fact that he was in an actual house, which was also the last place he saw his family. That part wasn't a lie, really. The last place he _did_ see his family was his old house. Somehow, thinking about that didn't really make him feel better.

School had ended, and Liam was on his way to Theo's truck when he was suddenly ambushed.

"Liam," an important voice said.

It was Scott.

"Oh," Liam grimaced, "Hi guys."

The rest of the pack were right behind the alpha.

"Are you busy on June 15th?" Scott asked him.

"No, why?"

"We want to have a pack meeting then. We've just noticed some pretty weird stuff around town, but everyone else is busy until then, so that's when we'll officially meet. It could just be nothing, it's just some witnesses saying that they've seen an odd shadow in the woods at night sometimes," Scott explained.

"Oh, ok," Liam said. "Can Theo come?" he added quickly, smooth as silk.

Stiles coughed. "Uh, sure," Scott said slowly.

"Cool!" Liam exclaimed, "bye guys!" He spoke excitedly, as if they hadn't been arguing the day before and as if he wasn't inviting the pack's murderer to a get together with them.

Liam walked in the direction of Theo's truck. The pack saw this and glared at the chimera, fangs showing. Theo being the little shit he is, gave them a shit-eating, humongous grin while tipping his head up slightly, waving his hand. Liam snickered as he looked back at the furious pack. They got into the car, Liam smirking at him.

"You don't have to fuck with the pack all the time," Liam said amusedly.

"Look what being nice got me," he said jokingly, pointing to his nose, regarding the pack meeting.

Liam shoved him while rolling his eyes, a smile playing on his lips. "Don't joke about that," he muttered.

Theo chuckled softly, then started driving. "Oh, I almost forgot, Mason invited you and me to his house. Wanna go?"

"Oh, yeah, of course," Liam answered excitedly.

They pulled up to Mason's place. It was bigger than Liam's by a little. His mother was extremely rich. She was the first African-American doctor to receive the Beacon Hills Essential Service award. It was before Mason was born, and apparently she was the talk of the town for three months. During that time, she met Mason's father. She thought nothing of him at first, until he did the impossible: He had made her laugh. She loved him for it, and so she asked him to join her for dinner. Fast-forward to now, she and him were happily married with Mason as their son.

Mason never got tired of hearing that story. Liam can't blame him- it sounded pretty cool. The way his parents met was pretty boring. His mom and his biological dad met when a friend of Jenna's set them up. Her friend knew his old dad from work. When Jenna heard his name, she instantly agreed to meet him. Mark Dunbar. She just liked the name.

When the two met, they instantly hit it off. Two years later, they got married and about a week after, Jenna was pregnant. However, once Liam was about seven, Mark started drinking. Jenna didn't know why. But it started to show more and more in his behavior, until one day he snapped, and punched Liam in the face. He divorced Jenna and drove off after that, leaving the mother heart-broken and alone.

She and David met the exact same way. Another one of her friends wanted her to find love again, so she set her up with her best friend: David Geyer. The same thing happened: they got married two years later, only this time, David was here to stay. She took his last name, while Liam kept his father's. As much as he hated his biological father, he liked the name, just like his mother. Besides, Liam Geyer sounds weird.

He loved his parents, except for his old dad, but he wished they had a more exciting love story. One where they start out hating each other, not noticing each other, fighting each other. One where it wasn't love at first sight, but hatred. One filled with betrayal and redemption, action and alliances, and trust. One where you understand the other person, and want to help them. One where you don't keep any secrets. One where they slowly realize what the other one means to each other, but deny it until it grows too strong to ignore.

But where the hell was he going to get that?


	22. Carsick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pack goes on a road trip to check out this shadow that witnesses have been talking about. However, they have to make an emergency detour.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> poor baby theo 🥺 
> 
> anyway i hope u enjoy this chapter and thank u for commenting and leaving kudos!!! Love yall!

It was now Friday, June 1st, 2:30 PM. School had just been let out. The pack meeting was in two weeks, so Liam didn't expect for the pack to ambush him _again_ once he walked out of the school. Obviously, the pack and him talked on a daily basis, but light-heartedly (things have become more tense now but they gloss over it). But the look on Scott's face told him this wasn't like their usual conversations, but rather something urgent.

"Liam," he said importantly.

"Hey Scott, what is it?"

"Come with us."

Scott lead him and the pack to the library inside, completely unoccupied except for the mostly deaf librarian. "What's this about?" Liam asked.

"Remember that shadow I was talking about yesterday, the one described by witnesses?" Scott asked expectantly. 

"Yeah," Liam responded, curious.

"Turns out, it's not nothing," Scott said, then pulled out photos that he got from the deputy cameras they set up in the woods. The images show a shadow that was, in fact, a man. However, in the next few images, he sees a werewolf-like shape.

"It's a werewolf!" Liam exclaimed.

"Yup, we have to travel a little out of town this weekend to follow him. He's just outside Beacon Hills now," Stiles answered. "We're planning on just talking, no fighting. Chances are he's not looking for any trouble, but he is a werewolf, so we still need to check it out. We're leaving tomorrow at 6 PM, sharp. None of the cars can fit all of us, so we're renting a tiny bus."

"Cool, cool," Liam responded, "well I'll see you guys tomorrow then." With that, the pack dispersed.

"Oh, and one more thing," Scott said before Liam walked off completely, "bring Theo." Liam felt a smile creep up on his face. _Did Scott trust him now?_ "His training with the Dread Doctors can help us find him."

Liam's face dropped. _It was better than nothing, at least._ Liam nodded and headed home. Theo couldn't drive him home today because he needed to talk to the principal after school, so Liam had to walk. Theo came home about thirty minutes later. The boys talked and played video games.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Liam said right before the two were about to go to sleep, "the pack going on a road trip tomorrow and we're both coming. It'll be quick, and they'll explain it in detail tomorrow. Pack clothes for at least two days."

"Oh, ok," Theo said, a bit shocked at the sudden news. He packed some clothes and toiletries, as did Liam, and they both went to sleep in their own rooms.

Theo only got two hours of sleep that night.

It was now Saturday, June 2nd, 6:02 PM. The pack met at Scott's house. Liam told his parents that he and Theo were sleeping over at a friend's house. The Geyers didn't question it. Here they were, with a tiny bus that Derek had rented. It could fit five people in the back. That's where Mason, Corey, Scott, Liam and Theo sat. Stiles, Lydia, Malia, and Hayden sat in the middle, while Peter and Derek sat in the front. They had taken Deaton as well, just in case. He sat next to Malia. They were just about to leave.

Liam could sense the tension rolling off of everyone as soon as he, and more importantly _Theo_ , had showed up. Derek and Malia looked like they wanted to kill him, Stiles had a look of contempt on his face, Hayden and Lydia looked exasperated and annoyed, Scott looked sad, Mason and Corey looked sympathetic, Deaton looked scared and Peter looked amused.

Theo ignored it for the most part, happy he wasn't sitting next to Malia. He sat in between Liam, who was on the far left side of the car, and Scott, who was in the middle. Next to Scott were Mason and Corey. "So, what's the plan here?" Liam asked.

"Turns out that whoever it is we're looking for has moved a bit further into the other town, so it's going to be a nine hour drive, so Derek and Peter will take turns driving. Once we get there, we'll find him and ask him some stuff," Scott explained.

"Like what?" Liam asked.

"We'll ask him who he is, what he's doing here out of the blue, what kind of werewolf he is, and based on his answers we'll ask other questions," Scott said.

"Cool," Liam said, finishing the conversation.

"Alright, here we go," Derek said. And with that, they were off. They went for about four hours before they started to doze off. Lydia and Stiles fell asleep, Lydia resting on his shoulder, Stiles on her head. Hayden leaned against the window, Malia leaning on her, Mason, Corey, Scott, Liam and Theo were practically spooning in the back, and Peter's been asleep for about three hours so that he was awake when it was his turn to drive. Deaton dozed with his head back. They were all peaceful.

That was until Liam let out a strangled yelp of pain, woke up with a blink. Derek turned around, asking, "Everything okay, Liam?"

"Yeah, I just-" Liam paused, feeling another small jolt of pain, letting out another exclaim of pain, a bit louder this time, which in turn woke up Malia, Hayden, Scott, Peter and Corey.

"Is everything o-" Scott asked, but was cut off by a groan from himself. This woke up Deaton, who asked what was going on, eyes barely opened.

Corey also muttered somewhat of an "ow." Mason woke up slowly, and asked what was going on. This woke up Stiles as well.

"Corey, Liam and I, we're in pain," Scott explained.

The supernaturals just woke up from slumber, so they weren't fully alert yet. If they had been more awake, they would've found the cause of pain immediately.

It wasn't until Liam said, "Wait, shh. I don't want to wake Theo up," that everyone figured out what was going on.

Once Liam said that, everyone looked down at the chimera, who was still sleeping. However, what they didn't expect to see were the black veins coursing through Theo's arms, traveling up to Liam and Scott's arms. They were taking Theo's pain. Liam panicked.

Corey, still touching Scott's arm, was taking Scott's second-hand pain. He immediately let go of Scott and put his hand on Theo. "What's going on?!" Liam asked loudly. Theo's body was still, but he looked scared, just like the other night. Deaton snapped awake, and turned around. He gasped softly, then got out his medical kit. Derek pulled over. Scott, Liam, and Corey let out grunts of pain. "It's so much," Liam said softly. Theo's face contorted to a distressed one. Everyone was looking back, frantically asking what was going on.

"Theo's in pain," Scott said. "We have to get him awake."

"Or we could just leave him," Malia said. Hayden made a sound of agreement.

"SHUT UP!" Liam yelled, taking the pack by surprise. They didn't think about it for long, though. They went back to either taking Theo's pain or helping Deaton find a way to wake Theo up.

Liam remembered how he got Theo awake the other night. However, he couldn't do it himself because he was in so much pain from taking Theo's. It was an overwhelming amount, and there were three people taking his pain. He can only imagine what Theo was dealing with. "Deaton, this happened Wednesday night. You have to snap him out of his thoughts by yelling at him. Then you have to soothe him, and he'll wake up," Liam explained.  
  
Deaton nodded. He nodded at Malia, indicating that she be the one to yell at him. "THEO," she bellowed, "WAKE UP!" She shook him, but it only made it worse. He looked even more agitated. Liam didn't understand. It worked last night. He was getting upset. On top of the overwhelming pain he was feeling, and the hate he felt on behalf of Theo towards the pain, and now _this_ , he was getting angry.

"THEO, WAKE UP, GODDAMMIT," He yelled, claws pricking Theo's skin, eyes glowing yellow. Theo's body stilled even more than it had before. Liam took that as a sign that it had worked. He relaxed, claws retracting, eyes returning to normal. "Theo?" he whispered, "please wake up. Nobody's going to hurt you, please wake up." Liam remembered what had worked last time, and added, " _For me_."

Theo's eyes snapped open, and he immediately sat up, gasping for air. He was no longer in pain, so everyone retracted their hands.

After a while, Theo stopped panting, and turned to the concerned faces in the car. He managed to ask one thing.

"W-what happened?"


	23. Liar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam figured out Theo was lying about the severity of his nightmares.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this chapter is so short, but the next chapter is really long and i didn't want to put them together. thanks for viewing, and commenting and leaving kudos! it means a lot, loves!!! <3
> 
> hope u enjoy!

_"W-what happened?"_

Liam didn't know where to begin. He was confused. Last night, Theo had told the Geyer family that his nightmare was a one-time thing. But here it had just happened again. They all sat in silence for a while, handing Theo water to drink.

"Well- you were in pain," Liam blurted out, making about zero sense.

"What?" Theo asked.

"You-you were asleep, and you were in pain, a lot of it," Liam continued.

"Oh," Theo said, realization washing over him. _Shit_ , he thought, _Liam gonna know I lied last night._

Except that Liam was a big, fat idiot and didn't think much of it for the next five hours. Theo was, in the pack's eyes, the least important person there, so Deaton gave him a quick check up, they asked half-heartedly if he was fine, he said yes, and then they were off, Peter taking over the driving. Liam was upset that they didn't spend more time checking up on Theo, so for the rest of the night he held Theo's wrist, not completely sure what it would do, but it seemed to calm the chimera. It wasn't until they got to their destination, Margery Town, and checked into their hotel rooms did Liam finally realize Theo had lied to him.

"Wait a minute!" he exclaimed. Theo looked up at him. He and Theo were sharing a hotel room, which Theo found to be a bit odd because Liam had a girlfriend, but Liam mentioned something about being the only one who could stand the chimera and that was that. Now they were both standing in the hotel room, Theo setting up the pullout bed, both surprised by Liam's epiphany.

"You LIED!" Liam yelled. Theo sighed. "You said that that nightmare you had was a one-time thing! But you just had one today! And you always look so tired, and you weren't even shocked by what happened today, and...and you LIED!"

"Liam, I'm-"

" _How could you?_ My family was trying to help you- _I_ was trying to help you- and you won't even tell us what's really going on! How much sleep do you even get a night, huh?"

"...three hours," Theo murmured. He could hear Liam's gasp-like groan.

" _Three hours?!_ And you didn't think to tell us this?"

"I didn't want to worry you."

"Theo, we're friends- we're pack- we're _family-_ you need to tell us when you're in pain."

Theo's head shot up. "Family?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes, Theo, _family_. Gah, I can't believe you didn't tell me this! What else are you hiding from us, huh? Are you secretly dying or something?"

Theo snickered sadly. "I'm sorry, Liam. I- I didn't want to make you upset."

"Theo, I..." _Fuck, how do I finish this?_ Liam thought to himself.

Theo looked up at him.

"I _care_ , Theo. About you. You need to tell me when something's wrong, okay?"

Theo's heart skipped about twenty million beats. _He cares_. "...Okay," he whispered back.

Liam smiled. "Good. Now got your ass over here, you're insane if you think I'm letting you sleep by yourself on a pullout couch now that I know you're a recurring insomniac."

Theo rolled his eyes and said, "If you insist."

They both got into the bed, already in their pajamas. It was already 4:20 AM, and everyone was tired. Theo was about to turn the lights off, when Liam suddenly asked him something.

"Theo?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are you in so much pain?"


	24. Theodore Charlie Raeken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam had asked him why he was in pain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS DOMESTIC ABUSE, SOME DRUG AND ALCOHOL ABUSE, MENTIONS OF BLOOD AND GORE, AND SLIGHT REFERENCES TO TORTURE AND HOMELESSNESS. 
> 
> PLEASE DO NOT READ IF U ARE SENSITIVE TO ANY OF THESE TOPICS. 
> 
> if u want a vague summary of this chapter, feel free to ask me in a comment! The last thing I'd want to do is trigger you guys <3 
> 
> sry this was so long but i had a lot to fit in oops. Ty for reading and i hope you enjoy!

Theo was born on August 14, 1994. He came out of the womb crying, his skin a bit yellow at the bottom of his feet from the typical jaundice in newborns. He had green eyes, and a little beauty mark on his right cheek.

_"Congratulations, it's a boy!"_

His mother was crying out of joy. She took the baby into her arms, cradling it lightly. The doctors called Tara into the room.

_"Tara, look at him,"_ his mother had said.

_"He's so cute, mommy!"_

_"Isn't he?"_ Theo's father agreed.

_"Oh, Ryan,"_ his mother had said to his dad, _"he's adorable."_

_"Yes he is, Selena."_

They left about two days later, the baby and the mother both in perfect shape. About a week after he was born, they had chosen a name.

_"Mommy, what are you gonna name it?"_

_"We were thinking of Theodore."_

_"UGH, gross! Why that name?"_ Tara had responded. Both parents chuckled.

_"Do you know what the word Theo means, honey?"_ His father had asked.

_"No."_

_"It means God."_

_"Not to mention, it was also Teddy Roosevelt's name,"_ his mother had added. His father shot her a look. _"But, uh, yes, for the most part it's about the whole God thing."_

_"Oh. Well then I guess its a cool name,"_ Tara had said. With their daughter's blessing, they chose the name Theodore.

Tara had wanted the name Charlie, so that became his middle name. Theodore Charlie Raeken. It had a ring to it.

By six months old, Theo was crawling around the house like crazy. At nine months, he'd learned to walk. By twelve months, he had said his first word:

Papa.

_"Dammit!"_ his mother had exclaimed, earning a gasp from Tara and a cackle from Ryan.

It was Theo's birthday. He was turning six years old. Tara was ten. He invited ten kids to his party, all of which showed up. Tara was helping run the party, and was smothering Theo with hugs and kisses. Everyone had brought him a present as well. Theo was in heaven. But it's amazing how fast life can go to hell.

Little Theo was oblivious, but Tara wasn't. Something was changing within her family, or more so, her parents. She had noticed tension building between them throughout her life. It was almost impossible to see. That was until Theo was two years old. Tara was six years old then. She was walking down from her room, intending to alert her parents that Theo was crying. She walked down three mahogany steps before she heard:

_"We can't afford that!"_

_"We need to, Ryan, it's for our baby!"_

_"The rest of us use the money too, Selena! We can't spend it on fucking toys!"_

Tara had gasped, and ran back upstairs quietly. Her parents never fought. She ran into Theo's room, to make sure he hadn't heard. He was still crying. She didn't know what to do. Was he hungry? Thirsty? She picked him up, and rocked him in her arms. Slowly, he quieted, and fell asleep on her shoulder.

Now Tara was ten, at Theo's birthday party. Life has been just like that for the last four years: Tara taking care of Theo whenever her parents fought, which became more and more often. Tara had heard of bad marriages at eight when she talked to her counselor. She was told it was never the kid's fault, and that it had started long before the kids were even born. As Tara had grown from then, she had noticed more and more signs that her parents were in a bad marriage. _As long as Theo didn't know,_ she thought, _it'll be okay._ But that didn't last long.

About one hour into the party, she noticed Theo looking at something, eyebrows furrowed. She walked over to him and bent down to his height. _"Watcha looking at?"_

Theo pointed to two figures. Tara's eyes widened as she recognized them. Mom and Dad. Fighting. Now.

She was mad at them. How could they fight at Theo's birthday of all places? Deep down, of course, she knew that they couldn't control that. _"What are mommy and daddy doing, Tara?"_ Theo had asked in his babyish voice, _"and why don't they look happy?"_

_"I'll...explain later, T. Right now you have a party to go to!"_ Theo smiled at her and ran off.

How was she going to explain divorce to a six year old? She was only ten herself! But she forced herself to do it. Theo's birthday was over, and he had gotten into bed, waiting for his mom to come tuck him in. Instead, Tara had come through the door.

_"Hi, Tara, where's mommy?"_

_"...mommy can't make it tonight, Theo."_

_"Again?!"_

Tara nodded silently, going into the room to tuck the boy in herself.

_"Tara, why can't mommy tuck me in?"_ Theo had asked while playing with Tara's hair.

_"Well, it actually has to do with mommy and daddy not looking happy today, remember?"_ Tara had responded. Theo looked at her expectantly. She giggled and kissed him on the forehead, then got to explaining. _"You see Theo, mommy and daddy have a bad marriage. You know what a marriage is, right?"_ Theo nodded. _"Well, mommy and daddy got married just like everyone else, but it's not working out."_ Theo looked a little confused at that, so she rephrased. _"You know that math problem that you had trouble on during the school year?"_

_"Yeah, 2+2 = 4."_

_"Right! Remember how you thought that_  
 _2+3 = 4, and not 2+2?"_ Theo nodded. _"Well, mommy and daddy are like the numbers 2 and 3. They thought that they could make a happy marriage, just like how you thought 2 and 3 could make 4. But in the same way, mommy and daddy just couldn't be. They couldn't work out."_

_"Why not?"_

_"Sometimes that's just how it is. Like with 2 and 3. It just doesn't make 4."_

_"So, why are they not happy?"_

_"Well, Theo, remember how you felt when you got that math equation wrong?"_

_"Yeah. I felt mad. And sad."_

_"Exactly! That's how mommy and daddy feel, because they can't solve their equation. That's why they're fighting. They also want different things. Mommy wants to make the number 6, while daddy wants to make the number 3. There's no way to do both, which is also why they're fighting."_

_"...oh."_ Theo said, dazed. He didn't know how to process it.

_"I'm sorry, Theo,"_ Tara said, pulling him into a hug. They fell asleep together that night, curled up in Theo's bed.

Theo was now a little over 7, Tara almost 12. His parents had sat down with both of them to talk about their situation once they realized both kids were aware of their fighting. However, it didn't make things better. In fact, it made things worse. Ryan and Selena fought more and more in front of them now that both kids knew about their broken relationship. Not to mention the kids were older. Sometimes they fought in the car with all four of them, and Tara and Theo would be forced to sit there, listening to music to drown out the sound, or looking out the window. Tara still took care of Theo, a lot more frequently as well. However, she still managed to find time for friends, school, and hobbies. Her closest friends knew about their situation, and even offered to hang out with him. So, for the most part, things died down. Everyone was kind of separate, - except Theo and Tara - but it was at least peaceful.

Until September 5, 2001. Theo's dad had gone to work, his mother in his parent's shared room (the dad started sleeping in the guest bed), doing whatever she did in there. For the most part, she slept. Sometimes she secretly smoked cigarettes. The father didn't know, but Tara and Theo could smell the smoke coming from her room. It was 8:06 PM. Theo's dad had just come home from work. Theo was in the living room right next to the front door, playing the piano. Ryan looked...different. As Theo stared at him some more, he knew exactly what it was.

He was heavily intoxicated. The smell of beer rolled off of him. Theo wasn't even a chimera then, but you didn't need a supernatural nose to smell that. _"Dad?"_ Theo asked cautiously. Theo's dad walked into the living room, and made eye contact with the boy. He looked at what Theo was doing, and a look of rage filled his face.

_"...Look at you,"_ he whispered threateningly. _"LOOK AT YOU! Sitting at that fucking piano like you deserve it, not even looking the least bit guilty as to how much it drained my pockets."_ Theo's family had a finance problem. His dad had a suitable job, but it was hard to make ends meet. The piano cost a lot, but his mother insisted that they buy it so Theo would be able to do something with himself. _"God, you don't deserve it. You don't deserve anything I've given you, you don't deserve ANYTHING!"_ The dad was coming dangerously close to Theo, hovering over the other side of the piano. _" 'Theo', "_ he almost laughed, _"the name was supposed to mean God."_ He turned around, as if lost in thought. He laughed a little.

Then, he whipped around, ran up to his son, and grabbed his throat. _"BUT ALL I GOT WAS A FUCK UP!"_ Then, his fist jabbed Theo in the face. Blood splattered from Theo's nose onto the keys of the piano. Sobs and gasps and pleads were squeezed out of the boy as his throat was grabbed once again. _"THAT'S ALL YOU'LL EVER BE!"_ Blood was coming out of Theo's nose, a bruise forming on his face. The dad stalked off, back into the guest room, slamming the door. Tears formed in the ducts of Theo's eyes, then erupted into tears. He sobbed wildly, unable to stop, the salty water hitting the keys. Tara wasn't home: she was with her friends. His mother ws probably asleep.

He was alone.

At around 8:45 PM, the front door opened again, Tara walking in. She heard quiet sobs coming from the left of her. She walked into the living room.

She was horrified by the sight that greeted her eyes. A blood-covered, crying, bruised Theo. She'd never been more scared in her life. _"THEO!"_ She ran up to the boy, touching his face, wiping the tears. _"Theo, who did this to you?!"_ Through his tears, he managed to say one thing.

_"D-Dad."_

Tara froze, knee-deep in horror. She ran to the kitchen to get him an ice pack, but kept silent. If her dad did this to a seven-year-old, what would he do to her? Furthermore, why? Why did he do this? She signaled Theo to be quiet, then walked near the guest room. She ignored his silent protests, continuing to walk until the strong smell of alcohol hit her. She ran back to Theo, putting the pieces together. She hugged him while he wailed. She didn't know what to do, so she called the only person who could possibly help.

_"MOM!"_

Selena came downstairs, looking stoned. However, she snapped out of it as soon as she saw her bloody son. She asked questions while grabbing a first aid kit, signaling Tara to call a hospital. However, once she heard the answer, she immediately stopped, and yelled at Tara to put the phone down. Tara knew why. If her dad was put in jail, the family would have no money. It was selfish of her mom, but necessary if they were going to survive. Instead, she iced Theo's wound as his sobs became more and more non-existent, and looked up how to heal a bruise. It healed rather quickly, but he stayed home from school the next day, just so nobody would ask him about it.

This continued for about a year, Theo's mother becoming less present, Theo's dad becoming more violent. One time, when Selena was sleeping, probably unconscious from her drugs, he even held a gun to Theo's head with Tara in the room, begging him to stop. He wasn't going to shoot him, but he just wanted to prove his power. That time, he wasn't even drunk.

Life continued like that until May 23, 2003. Theo was 8, Tara was 12. It was fourth grade. Theo had actually made some friends through all of this- Stiles Stilinski and Scott McCall. They were wrapped up in each other, but they invited Theo to a lot of their stuff. It was good enough for Theo. However, on that day after school, he was kidnapped. Three suited men in armor pulled him behind the school, their black, metal claws gripping his shirt. He was scared shitless, to say the least. He was suffering from PTSD from his dad already, so the prospect of kidnapping made him traumatized to the point that he couldn't speak. He was silent and wide-eyed as they dragged him to a green lab. The last thing he could make out were the words _"Tara"_ , _"heart"_ , and something called a _"chimera"_. They walked into the lab he was in, pulling out tools that looked more like weapons of torture. One of them, who he later figured out was The Surgeon, stood in front of him, examining the boy, as the other two, The Geneticist and The Pathologist, binded him to the lab table as he screamed for help, his voice coming back. They all picked up some tools, Tara's heart, apologized, and started working. It was agonizing. Theo didn't remember what the procedure was, but he did know it was a horrific, bloody massacre. He was screaming in pain, but no one heard him. Even when he grew up, this procedure still plagued his dreams.

After about two hours, they were done. They cleaned Theo and the table up, and gave him clothes. He was about to start running away, screaming for help, when The Pathologist locked the doors and The Geneticist grabbed him by the arms.

_"He's still emotional,"_ The Surgeon said.

_"Yes, but he's only a child,"_ The Pathologist answered.

_"I'm aware, but it'll hurt him more in the future unless we do something about it,"_ came The Surgeon's response.

_"Shall we mind-erase?"_ The Geneticist asked.

_"No. We can't do that to him at such a young age,"_ The Surgeon explained, _"Instead, bring me a 15 milliliter dosage of The Sociopath Injection."_

_"Sir?"_ The Pathologist asked, shocked.

_"We can't erase his memory of this procedure. Once he works for us, he'll have even more horrific memories, and we can't mind-erase him every time he does something painful or in conflict with his morals."_

_"So you're saying we take away his ability to emote?"_ The Pathologist asked incredulously.

_"It's efficient, isn't it? We take away his emotions, he won't feel any pain, any remorse, any sadness or guilt for anything he's done, forever. We don't need to erase his memory, because we wouldn't need to. He'd be perfectly okay keeping these memories and the ones he'll make in the future, because he wouldn't feel anything,"_ The Surgeon said, almost sounding proud.

The Pathologist had hesitated, but nevertheless got the injection, and handed it to The Surgeon. The Surgeon didn't wait for the boy to do anything, he just simply injected him.

Theo screamed out in agony, his veins turning into an iridescent-like color. It would have been pretty if it wasn't so barbaric. But, after 15 seconds, it had been over, and the pain was gone. In fact, Theo couldn't feel anything.

_"Hey Theo,"_ The Surgeon said, as if talking to a kindergartner. _"How do you feel, buddy?"_

Theo had shrugged. Underneath their mask, The Surgeon smiled. They turned to their co-workers, and said, _"Bring me his file."_

The Pathologist got a Manila folder out from a drawer, labeled Theo Charlie Raeken. He handed it to The Surgeon. The Surgeon flipped through it, muttering, _"bad marriage"_ , _"sister"_ , and _"domestic abuse"_.

_"Theo,_ " The Surgeon had asked, _"how do you feel about your family?"_

_"Fine."_

_"Think of your dad for me. How do you feel? In pain?"_

_"No. I don't really feel anything when I think of him."_

The Surgeon looked back at the others, and gave them a look of affirmation. They took him to another room, which would later become his bedroom.

_"This is gonna be your bedroom, Theo. Because, soon, you'll be living with us."_ Theo nodded. _"You'll be working for us as well. You see, Theo, all we want to do is help you. All you have to do in return is follow our directions. Understand?"_ Theo nodded again. _"Good. Let's introduce ourselves. I'm The Surgeon, that's The Pathologist, and over there's The Geneticist. We're the Dread Doctors."_

_"Cool,"_ Theo said. With that, they had explained his first task to him. _The Chimera_ is what they called it.

_"Let me get this straight,"_ Theo said once they finished explaining it, " _You want me to kill me sister to get her heart so you can turn me into a chimera?"_ The Dread Doctors nodded. _"...Ok."_

It was June 30, 2003, about a month afterwards. Theo was sent back home about two hours after he met the Dread Doctors. It had taken this long because Theo needed to find the perfect moment to kill Tara. This was the day he found one. Theo and Tara were walking near their favorite bridge. Theo had been good at hiding the fact that he was a sociopath, however Tara could still tell something was off. She didn't think much about it though; in the house they live in, everyone acts weird. Theo went into the forest part of the area, while Tara went near the creek. _"Meet me back here in five minutes,"_ she had told him. He nodded.

He was walking in the woods when he heard a sudden crack and a scream of pain coming from the creek. He heard his name being called and jogged up to the bridge. There he saw his sister, leg broken, stuck in the creek. _"Theo! Help me up!"_ But he didn't. He stood there, arms hanging over the bridge.

_"THEO! Theo!...Theo?"_ Her voice became more and more betrayed. She kept screaming, begging for anybody, asking Theo, _"Why? After all I've done for you?!"_ She died there from hypothermia.

A month later on July 31, the court ruled it as an accident. On August 14th, the family moved out, claiming that the house was unbearable to live in now that Tara was dead. It was pretty ignorant of them to set the moving date on Theo's birthday, but for the past two years only Tara had celebrated it with him, so this year it was completely ignored. Theo was fine with that. Of course he was, he was a sociopath. He said goodbye to his friends, Scott and Stiles, and with that, they left. About a week later, the Dread Doctors came and took him. He disappeared without a trace. His family didn't send a search team or call the police. They barely even noticed he was gone. It was like a financial burden had been lifted off their shoulders.

The Dread Doctors took him back to their lair, where he lived out his life. He became a hit man in a sense, killing whoever the Dread Doctors wanted gone, except he wasn't paid. The Dread Doctors taught him many skills: some practical ones like how to play the piano, or how to do biology or math. The other ones consisted of how to get away with murder, or how to torture somebody. They were all taught to perfection. If he made even one mistake, he would be punished. Punching or waterboarding was their favorite method of discipline. However, it worked. Theo learned many skills, including lacrosse, piano, art, math, biology, sports, swimming, torture, discreet murder, history, and a lot of other ones, and he actually enjoyed them. He especially loved the piano. As he grew up, he became less of a sociopath. He still couldn't feel remorse, or pain, or guilt, or anything that would interfere with his task of murdering people, but he could feel happiness, annoyance, confusion, and judging by the fat he was living with sociopathic doctors who were only concerned with perfection and work, he could _definitely_ feel bored. However, the Dread Doctors were somewhat of a family to him. That's how it felt, at least. There was even this girl that he worked with to kill people. Her name was Dani. But then, she died one day, at the hands of a werewolf. Since that, the Dread Doctors were adamant about how to fight supernatural creatures in both human and chimera form. It wasn't until 16 that the name Scott McCall was thrown into the air. His new mission: his old best friend. That was somewhat of an advantage, because it'd be easier for Scott to trust him.

However, it didn't go according to plan. He had winded up in Hell. It wasn't fun, at all. Not just because it was painful, but also because some of the sociopathic medicine he was given was still at work. Basically, Theo was in pain, but he didn't know how to feel it. That was Theo's biggest fear: not knowing what to do. He had always known what to do, because of the training with the Dread Doctors- if he did something wrong, his head would be dunked in water for thirty seconds. But here, he didn't have that. It was just an endless loop of not knowing how to feel, what to do, who to be angry at. In a sense, having his heart ripped out for all eternity was the least of his problems. On top of feeling helpless, seeing his sister was traumatizing. She was the only person he had loved, and here she was, ripping out his heart. At some point, he stopped running. He actually started talking to her. And surprisingly, she listened. He told her about the pack, about his birthday, about the Dread Doctors. She nodded, no sense of vengeance on her face. Once he was done talking, he could've sworn there was a look of _guilt_ on her face as she tore his heart out. Slowly, as he rotted in there, his sociopathic medicine went away, just like Tracy and Josh's powers. Soon, he was just a sarcastic ex-murderer. He didn't feel a sense of grudgingness. He knew he didn't deserve to live without punishment. But, it still felt horrible. Couldn't they have just sent him to jail?

Theo had gotten out of Hell after Liam brought him out. He didn't know why, but it made Theo feel a bit weird to know that Liam only brought him out to use his powers. Not to mention, Theo was homeless. He had gotten a gas station job, sometimes pick-pocketing people for money. He knew it was wrong, but he couldn't help it. He was just trying to survive. It was hard, and sometimes he threw up, but he managed as best he could. He still had nightmares about Tara and the Dread Doctors. His dreams about the Dread Doctors were mostly about how he missed them. They may have fucked his life up more than it had been before, sure, but...they cared about him. They told him what to eat, how to fight, they played cards with him sometimes even. It was true what they had said: _"You see, Theo, all we want to do is help you."_

So, he woke up from his night terror and spent his days in his gas station job, sometimes helping the pack while they gave him awful stares. That was, until the war. he had fought with Liam, something budding inside him every time he thought about him. It pained him the most to hear Liam say he deserved Hell. He didn't know why. Once it was over, and Gabe was dying, something washed over him. _Care._ That's what he guessed based on what the Dread Doctors explained to him, at least. He walked over to Gabe, and put a hand on Gabe's. Based on the pain he had been through, Gabe's pain felt like a tickle. He could sense Liam's stare on his back. He liked it.

Flash-forward to the bus. Theo was thinking of Hell, getting his heart ripped out. Except this time, it was Liam ripping it out. He had an awful smile on his face, his hands cold and clammy. Theo found himself aching for his touch nonetheless. That's why it hurt so much- it was Liam. On top of everything he had been through, he was in love for the first time, with someone he couldn't have.

The pack was shocked that they were taking Theo's pain.

However, if they found themselves touching him at any other time of the day, they'd find that Theo Raeken...

He was always in pain.


	25. Worst Fears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pack hunts down the werewolf on the run. But what's he running from?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, this chapter is a little late, and a bitttt shorter that normal. sorry!!
> 
> hope you enjoy nonetheless! <3

_"Why are you in so much pain?"_

Theo knew damn well why he was in so much pain, but he didn't know how to tell Liam. He didn't know how to open up.

"I..." That was all Theo managed to get out.

"...It's okay. You don't have to tell me now. We should get some sleep."

Theo smiled at him, Liam returning the gesture. They fell asleep, unintentionally holding hands.

Theo slept peacefully that night.

The morning, however, was a different story. They were woken up at around 7:40 AM by Stiles, who shook them until they jerked awake. He then started complaining about how close they were sleeping next to each other as Theo and Liam got ready.

At around 8:15 AM, they got back in the car to find the mysterious werewolf. They drove around for about an hour, everyone glancing at Theo as he sat there awkwardly. Suddenly, Derek stopped driving, sending everyone tumbling forward a bit, jerking to a halt against their seatbelts.

Derek pointed to the woods, and said quietly, "There he is." The pack looked, and instantly found the shadowy figure. It looked like it found them too. It started sprinting deeper into the woods, trying to escape. The pack rushed out of the car, chasing after the creature. The werewolf looked panicked, and kept glancing behind his shoulder. Theo and the rest of the supernaturals could sense the fear rolling off him, so they slowly stopped running. The creature hid behind a tree.

"Hey! Hey!" Scott called out to the creature. "We're not here to hurt you. We just wanna talk." Slowly, the werewolf peered out, and walked away from the tree he was hiding behind. He faced them.

"Wha-what do you want?" The werewolf asked nervously.

"First off, we'd like to know who you are," Scott said.

The werewolf relaxed a little, and said, "I'm Alex. Alex Rasher. I'm from Saint Phillips Town, which is about a couple hours from here."

"What are you doing here? And why were you running?" Scott asked him, no sense of suspicion in his voice. It was curious, however, that someone would run all the way here when they live 3 hours away. It must've been an emergency.

And judging from the grimace and mild terror that crossed Alex's features, the pack guessed that it had been. "There-there was this creature. No, it was a monster. It-it showed me something. Something I never wanted to see again."

"What was it?" Scott asked, concerned.

"...My worst fear. It-it engulfed me: changed the place I was standing in with a woosh sound, as if it had taken me back in time. Back into the place I never wanted to go back to. Back to my old home. I stood there, paralyzed, watching my mom die at the hands of a gunned man. I saw myself from then, watching shocked and scared. It was like watching a movie you star in. You watch helplessly as the movie plays out, despite the fact that you were in it."

The pack looked at one another, scared and shocked. There was something new, in Beacon Hills.

"I ran away, and I'm still running, you guys just found me. I don't know what it is or what it wants, I just know I don't wanna be around it."

"Wait...." Theo said suddenly. Everyone faced him. He looked up at Alex. "You said it showed your mom dying, right?" Alex nodded. "Did this actually happen?"

"Y-yes, she was killed when I was two."

Theo looked at the ground for a second, lost in thought, then snapped his head up and said, "I know what it is."

"What're we waiting for then? Let's go!" Liam said, looking at the pack who were looking weirdly at Theo.

They all grouped together, intending to walk back to the car. Scott halted in his movements as he realized the werewolf wasn't following them.

"I can't come with you. I want to- I _need_ to leave," the werewolf said, as if reading his mind.

Scott spoke. You could help us. You could tell us things that-"

"I've told you everything I know. You've gotta let me go."

Scott nodded, and the pack thanked him before he ran off, Scott making the promise they'll alert him if they defeat whatever creature this was.

They walked back to the car, headed to the hotel, checked out, and walked back into their bus, heading home to Beacon Hills.


	26. Two Supernaturals Walk Into a McDonalds...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam and Theo have a deep conversation as to why the two of them keep each other sane and how they make each other feel at home...in a McDonalds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW 2000 VIEWS TYSM! I never thought this many people would be into my books lol, tysm! Also, ty guys for commenting, bookmarking and leaving kudos, it means the world to me!!! <3
> 
> anyways, I hope you enjoy the chapter!

It was now 3:30 PM, and the pack and Theo had stopped for lunch at McDonalds. The pack sat at a couple of tables that were near each other. They didn't explicitly say that Theo couldn't join them, but Theo could read the room and he didn't want to take his chances. He sat in a booth near the window, almost opposite from where the pack was sitting. Liam, Mason, and Corey had just gotten their orders from the cashier, and were about to head near the tables the pack was sitting at when Corey suddenly spoke in a whisper.

"Look," he said, pointing to the booth containing the chimera.

"Oh," Liam said, grimacing with pity.

"We should go sit with him," Mason decided, and Corey nodded in agreement. But as they started walking, Liam stopped them.

"Wait..." he said slowly, "if you don't mind I think I'm gonna talk to him. Alone."

"Oh," Mason said, sounding a bit upset.

"No, not like that! I just...need to talk to him about something private, and I don't think he'll like it if we're all there," Liam explained as best he could.

Mason smirked and said, "Relax, Dunbar, jeez. I'm never gonna be mad at you." Corey rolled his eyes in some form of agreement and the two headed off to the pack's tables. The pack didn't notice as Liam slowly approached the lonely chimera, lurking in his booth.

Liam plopped down into the cushioned seat across from Theo, and smiled. Theo's head shot up, and as he realized who it was, he smiled back at him. "Hi," Theo said.

Liam looked at him. He was still vaguely smiling. Whenever he gave a genuine smile, his green eyes turned a little brighter, and a dimple formed on both sides of his face. His array of perfect, white teeth showed. Liam felt like smiling just from looking at him.

"Hi," Liam said back. "How are you doing?"

"I'm feeling better."

"That's good," Liam said, then asked, "Why don't you come sit with the pack?"

"Liam, I think it's pretty clear that they don't want me there."

Liam sighed at that. It was true. "Yeah," he said softly, "sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it, it's fine," Theo said genuinely, after all, it wasn't Liam's fault that the pack hated him. "I like being with you, Mason and Corey better anyway."

Liam's heart did a jump at that. Theo excused it as sheer surprise from something so genuine coming from the mostly sarcastic chimera.

"I like being with you too."

Theo smiled, and blushed ever so slightly before willing the blood to evacuate his face. "Where are Mason and Corey anyway?"

"Oh, I-uh- I sent them to eat with the pack," Liam said. Theo gave him a confused look. "I wanted to speak to you about something. Alone."

"Oh," Theo said. He wiped his face with a napkin and said, "Shoot."

"Well, it's-it's kinda hard to put into words but...last night. Y-you had that nightmare, just like the other time at our house."

"Mhm," Theo nodded, finding joy in the fact that Liam called it _their_ house instead of _his_ house.

"Well, the way I woke you up the night at our house was by yelling at you, then calming you down." Theo nodded expectantly. "Well, last night, Malia did the exact same thing. She started yelling at you, but you didn't wake up. B-but when I started yelling at you that night, you did. Um...why?"

Theo snorted and starting laughing softly. He smirked at Liam and repeated, "Why?"

Liam gave him a "fuck you" look and said more confidently, "Yeah, why?"

Theo smiled, then looked down at his food. "You ever heard of an anchor, Liam?"

"Like the boat anchor or a werewolf anchor?"

God, Liam was a dumbass. "Which one do you think, Dunbar?"

"...werewolf anchor?"

"Wow! What a genius! You deserve an award!" Theo exclaimed sarcastically, clapping and raising his eyebrows in fake-shock. Liam rolled his eyes and snickered as he pushed Theo's arm. "Yes, you dumbass, werewolf anchors."

"So, what about them?"

"You wanna know why Malia can't wake me up and you can? Because she's not my anchor. You are."

Liam looked pretty shocked. It wasn't too surprising- he probably could've figured it out if he had thought about it enough- but it was still a bit weird that he- Liam Dunbar- was Theo Raeken's anchor.

"How?" Liam asked. He knew about werewolf anchors, about how it's someone you trust, someone who makes you feel safe, someone who makes you feel at home. He just never thought he'd be that for Theo.

"I don't know. I guess...you make me feel safe, you know. 'At home.'" He air-quoted the last part with his fingers, but meant it genuinely. His heartbeat hadn't stuttered when he said that. Liam noticed.

Of course, Liam was horrible at processing emotions, so he did the following: "How cheesy," he said, rolling his eyes, taking a bite from his sandwich.

Luckily, Theo also was horrible at processing emotions, so he chuckled and ate a bite of his sandwich. Still, Liam could feel the soft sadness from him.

God, what should he say? _Fuck it, Dunbar. Why not just the truth?_ "I-I think you're my anchor too." Theo looked at him, surprised.

"What makes you think that?" Theo asked, no sense of mockery in his voice.

"I-I don't know. Whenever my IED starts acting up, I think of you, a-and then it's...gone? Yeah, it just kinda goes away when I think of you. I guess you make me feel safe too. You know, 'at home'," he said, lifting his hands up to air-quote and lowering his voice at the last part to imitate Theo.

Theo chuckled, then mockingly rolled his eyes and lifted his voice, and said, "How cheesy."

Liam laughed and pushed him, Theo grinning. "Shut up, you're no better at emotions than I am."

Well, Theo couldn't deny that.


	27. Mark Dunbar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Theo tells Liam what he thinks of bad people. Which includes Liam's dad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank yall sm for commenting, bookmarking, and leaving kudos or just reading in general it makes my day!!
> 
> heres a new chapter, i hope you enjoy!! <3

It was now 10:40 PM. They had gotten home the same day, luckily. Tomorrow was June 4th, however, which was a school day, so everyone disbanded quickly. Theo and Liam got back to their house, greeted by a note from Jenna, saying:

_Hey boys, David and I got an emergency call, so we'll be out until tomorrow after you've gone to school. Sleep well!_

_Love, J_

The boys nodded to each other, and headed upstairs to get ready. However, just as Liam was about to head into his room, Theo said, "Liam?" Liam turned around. "Would you mind..." Theo trailed off, gesturing into his room, hoping it would finish his sentence.

Liam was confused for a second, until it dawned on him. "Oh, sure!" he said. As Theo's anchor, he considered it his obligation to stay the night in Theo's room, just in case he had a nightmare. That was all, though. There was nothing else driving him to go into Theo's room. Nothing. At. All.

The two slightly snuggled up by each other, Liam's warm body touching Theo's concerningly cold one. Liam's eyebrows furrowed, and he pulled the blanket tighter around the boy. The boys sat in silence for a while. Liam could sense a mild sorrow coming off of Theo.

"I'm sorry about the pack," Liam blurted out. Theo's head snapped up to look into his eyes. Liam could sense a blush coming onto his own face. _What? No! Bad Liam!_ "I'm sorry about how the pack treats you," He clarified.

"Oh. It's okay."

"But it's not! You're no longer a bad person, or whatever you were. I wish they could see that."

"It's okay, Liam, really. It's hard to ask a group of people who think I'm evil to like me."

"But you're not evil! I mean, Peter's a bad person and we still hang out with him, right?"

Theo chuckled softly, drawing Liam's attention to him. "First off Liam, I don't really believe in bad people."

Liam looked at him with probably the most confused look on his face of all time, which is saying something. "Hubbawubbawaaa?" he mumbled, earning a laugh from Theo.

"There are only two types of people in the world, Liam: Good people, and _hurt_ people."

Liam looked thoughtful. "Why do you say that?" he asked.

"Because it's true. That doesn't mean what the person is _doing_ isn't bad, but you can't define _people_ in life as good or bad. It's oftentimes a gray area, and if there had to be two categories, it would be good and hurt."

"Gimme an example."

"Ok," Theo said. "Gabe: he was just a kid, ya know. He wanted power, no doubt because of his family situation. He was pressured by his father to become something big, and he always disappointed. He was hurt by his father, so he took it out on others. Every murderer has a mental condition- nobody kills unless their under the influence of heavy drugs or unless they're hurt or have a mental condition. Nobody murders because they want to. Not even hunters. Bullies: oftentimes the people who have the lowest self esteem or internalized hate. Nolan: his parents always fought in front of him, so he was scared. He wanted to have the upper hand for once. Look at what happened to him."

Liam looked at him for a moment. It was shocking, seeing these people in a new light. He was about to speak, when suddenly Theo said, "Your dad."

Liam froze, eyebrows furrowed, eyes on Theo. "Explain," he said.

Theo looked down at the blanket. "Well, before I was sent to kill your pack," he said bluntly, Liam jerking slightly, Theo smirking, "I was told to collect as much information on you and the others."

"And what'd you find out?" Liam asked nervously.

"Well, your dad got addicted to alcohol. He neglected you and your mother. And then he punched you and filed for a divorce." Theo grimaced slightly. He didn't like the thought of anyone punching Liam.

"Seems pretty bad to me," Liam spat out, feeling bitter. Theo grazed his hand, calming him down. His IED dissipated slowly, like it always does when near Theo. Liam hesitantly leaned into his anchor's touch.

"Well, it does sound pretty bad..." Theo paused, then continued, "when you take it out of context."

Liam turned his head to face Theo's, raising an eyebrow, saying, "What context am I missing, exactly?"

"Liam, you know where you get you're good-spirited, yet dick-headed personality?"

"WHAT?!"

Theo ignored him and smirked, then continued, "Your dad."

"I agree with the dick-head part," Liam said, referring to his dad.

"That's bold of you to admit Liam," Theo said, earning a punch in the arm from Liam.

Theo snickered, then said, "He was just like you: wasn't afraid to speak up about something he believed in, had trouble controlling his anger when something went wrong, and he was persistent."

If anyone else had said that to Liam, he would've punched them square in the face. But this was Theo, and Theo's advice always seemed to work, and he had some flattering things, so Liam let it go. Easy to do when his anchor was sitting right next to him.

"He also loved you and your mom, and would've died for you."

Liam's heart skipped a beat, tears forming in the ducts of his eyes.

"He'd never become a drunk on purpose, knowing how it would affect you and your mom. I think it's important that you know that."

Liam nodded, gulping down a sob.

"Your father was up for a promotion, which would've been high paying and given him a managerial position in the workplace. One day, your dad was in a meeting with everyone else who was a manager or such, talking about what his life would be like once he was promoted, which would've happened in a week. They needed to give him a set of tasks to complete within the first week, to see if he could handle it. So they did. What he wasn't expecting, however, was the task to fire someone. Mackenzie Serling. A feisty woman with a leader-like personality. She got a lot of work done, worked well with everyone in the office, and had made tons of sales. Why fire her? He thought it was insane. When he asked, he got an answer. 'Because a woman can't lead a workplace.'

"He was furious, to say the least, and he lashed out on them, calling them sexists and pigs, saying they'd never live up to her. To put a long story short, he was fired. She wasn't, luckily, as he had told her what had happened and she moved to a different work building, one worthy of her," Theo explained, a solemn look in his eyes.

"They can't fire her for being a woman!" Liam exclaimed, upset.

"She and your dad worked for a private company, which meant the CEO could fire whoever they wanted, for whatever reason," Theo explained, earning an "oh" from Liam. "Your dad panicked, wondering how he was going to pay for you and your mom. He never told her that he lost her job, scared that she would divorce him. Obviously your mom would never do that, but he was paranoid, and had lost trust in a lot of others. Because of this he started drinking, claiming he was going to work, when in reality, he was going to the pub. You know the rest of the story. He hit you under the influence of alcohol, and then left. Horrible thing to do...but your dad wasn't a horrible person. Don't you think?"

Liam trembled, feeling depressed. He managed to get out a, "Yeah." Theo held onto him. "Where is he now?" Liam worked up the courage to ask.

Theo's face flatlined, and he said, "I don't know. I know he's somewhere in Australia, but that's about it...Sorry."

Liam smiled softly at him. He was angry at his dad still, obviously. But he also felt bad for him, and hoped that he would be happy. No tears came from Liam. His dad wasn't a person he could cry over, unfortunately. Maybe in another life Mark and him would've been close, and Liam would've cried for him, but not this life.

Liam was okay with that, though. Because in this life he had Mason, Corey, his mom, David...

and Theo.


	28. Metamentalgos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Theo and the others learn more about this mysterious creature, and find out some unsettling news about its origin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tysm for commenting, leavin kudos, bookmarking or just reading in general! y’all make my day ily!!!!
> 
> i hope u enjoy this chapter!!

It was the next day, June 4th, after school. The pack and Theo were all in the school library, at about 3:20 PM. Once everyone was there, Theo went up to the Teen Romance aisle, grabbed a seemingly random book, then sat back down, plonking the book down on the table, cover facing up. The pack looked at the title: _Murderous and Torturous Creatures_ , by _Unknown_. Definitely not a teen romance.

"Um," was all that was said, courtesy of Mason.

Corey added on, "Where did you get that? That's not a teen romance, and it's sure as hell not from our school."

"Well, when I was assigned to move into Beacon Hills to take over your pack," Theo said, most of the pack scowling or wincing. Theo didn't mind it for some reason, maybe because it made him feel powerful, as if for once he was the one making the pack feel uncomfortable, instead of the other way around. He continued- "The Dread Doctors hid a bunch of books from their lab into the school library, camouflaging them in a sense. That way I could grab a book about the supernatural if I needed it on short notice, without having to travel back to the lab. There are thousands of them here, like _Dragon Taming, Sociopathic Study, Torture Methods_. All of them by unknown authors, so no one could figure out where it came front m, and no title on the side of the book, so no innocuous passerby would accidentally see the title of the book and wonder why it was there."

Everyone stared at Theo for a second, remembering how devious the boy was before Hell, before Liam coughed and asked, "So, who _are_ the authors of the books?"

"The Dread Doctors. They wrote these as training books, like those _For Dummies_ books, only these were for in-training killers." Again, Theo got a wince from the pack, sending a tingle of satisfaction down his spine.

"Alright, so how is it going to help us find this creature that Alex was talking about?" Scott asked.

"Alex said that the creature engulfed him into the place and time where his most painful memory occurred, and then he had to watch his memory unfold, helpless," Theo said, flipping to a page. He turned the book around to show it to the pack. "This, this is what he saw."

_Metamentalgos_. The word was written in big letters on the top of the page Theo was showing. The pack stared confused at the page.

"Meta-meen-tal-goose?" Liam pronounced. "What's that?"

Theo rolled his eyes at the dumb werewolf. "First off, dumbass, it's pronounced meta-ment-al-goes, and second off," Theo said, unimpressed, making Mason and Corey snicker, the pack growl and frown, and Liam blush, "the Metamentalgos is a combination of root words. Meta, which means beyond or above, Algos which means pain, and the non-root word "mental", which is pretty self explanatory. Basically, this creature looks beyond your body and into your mind, finds your most painful memory, and replays it."

"That must be the creature Alex saw!" Lydia said. Theo nodded.

"Yup," the chimera confirmed, "his description matches this one to a tee."

"But why does it do that?" Derek asked, "It must want something."

"It does," Theo answered, then began reading some of the text off the page, "'The Metamentalgos shows people their worst memory, dragging them back into the past to watch their painful memory play out, almost as if traveling back in time. Once it's over, the person will return back to the contemporary time. It is important to know, before analyzing it's motives, what exactly the Metamentalgos is. The Metamentalgos is an entity, and it looks like a portal: a blinding white circular shape in the middle, wavy wisps of purple and blue surrounding it. Very difficult to picture or describe, almost an eidolon if you will. The Metamentalgos is an entity that's been around since the beginning of time, and its origins are a mystery. It is most likely a series of chemicals and mysterious substances created in the Big Bang, that got knocked into Earth. Ever since the beginning of time, it has existed. It is also vital to understand what the Metamentalgos does. The Metamentalgos, ever since the first living being was created, has been a carrier for pain. Whenever any creature in the world is hurt, the Metamentalgos, in a sense, takes that pain, leaving the person hurt with only a residue of the pain. Imagine if one is stabbed- it may be extremely painful for the one being stabbed, but its infinitely more painful for the Metamentalgos. In summary, the Metamentalgos has been put on this Earth to ensure all living creatures do not suffer constant pain, and it does this by taking that pain. What the Metamentalgos hopes to achieve from showing people their most painful memory, is to relieve itself of some of that pain, and give it to whoever their victim is, by showing them something painful. However, this doesn't work, because every time they hurt someone by showing them their worst memory, they take that person's pain, because that's their whole purpose- it all comes back to the creature.' So basically, it shows people their most painful memory to relieve itself of some pain by giving it to others, but since it's eternal purpose in life is to take pain, it all comes back to it." Theo finished. The pack didn't know what to say.

"So," Mason said after everyone finished processing the new information, "how do we stop it?"

"Well, it's main motive is to get rid of pain, so..." Theo said, "someone needs to take its pain."

"You expect us to take the pain of a creature that's been in excruciating hurt for billions of years?" Peter asked, in a you-can't-be-serious tone.

"You can't kill it, because it's an entity, and you can't speak to it, because it's not a person. There's really no other choice here," Theo responded calmly.

"Let's not focus on that right now. We need to first know how we can catch up to it, and make sure it doesn't escape us," Scott said, pulling the book to face the pack. Theo walked around to the their side of the table to stand next to Liam. He pressed a light hand onto the boy's shoulder. Liam smiled softly.

The pack flipped through the crumply, Manila-colored pages, looking at the text and drawings of the Metamentalgos. It was, in fact, a complicated entity, and difficult to explain. There were 100 pages dedicated to the creature, in a book of about 2000 pages, so there wasn't an excessive amount of information to look through. _The creatures in the other pages of the books were pretty scary_ , Liam thought. He didn't know how Theo could know all about these creatures without being scared for his life. Luckily, the Metamentalgos seemed to be pretty harmless.

Or at least he hoped.


	29. Lost and Found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam gets lost, being the idiot he is. However, he finds something in there that makes up for his stupidity. It definitely makes up for his stupidity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tysm for reading guys!! I love the comments and kudos and ily all too!!! <3
> 
> i hope u enjoy the chapter!!

It was now June 9th, 5:00 PM. Everyone had met up at Scott's house, with Sheriff Stilinski, Melissa, Argent, and Deaton who had all now been alerted of the situation. Liam also told Nolan, both of them becoming friendlier to each other over the course of the past month. They all had spent the past few days studying and learning more about the Metamentalgos. They even went into the Dread Doctor's lab, trying to find books about it.

They had found out a significant amount of information, which they were now explaining to the adult newcomers.

"So, basically, we've split up our plan into three parts," Scott said, arms resting on either end of his kitchen table, hunched over. "First, we find out where it is. We need to make sure it's still in town and hasn't left. Beacon Hills is small, so it shouldn't be a problem. Second off, we contain it, isolate it and make sure it can't leave. Of course, we don't hurt it. Lastly, we find a way to make it stop showing people their most painful memory. Apparently it's driven a majority of its victims to suicide or depression. Luckily, Alex was a werewolf so it didn't do as much damage. Still, it's a lot more serious than we thought it was on Monday."

"Well, how do we get it to stop?" Sheriff Stilinski asked. 

Scott paused, looked at Theo, then said, "Well, as far as we know, the only option we've got is to take its pain."

"I'm sorry, you're going to-"

"I know, its scary," Scott interrupted the Sheriff, "but we're going to find another way, I-"

"There is no other way," Theo stated, "We can't d-"

"Shut up Theo," Scott said, turning to look at everyone, "we'll find a way, we always will." Scott sighed, then continued, "let's not focus on that right now. First, we do step one: find the creature. Theo, you stay here and do more research with my mom, the sheriff, and Deaton. See if you can find any other ways to catch it and stop it. The rest of us will split up and find the creature. We know that it likes to go underground to avoid being noticed, so that's where we'll start first. Got it, guys?"

"Got it," everyone said in unison. 

Mason, Corey and Liam were now lurking in the tunnels and tubes underneath Beacon Hills. Scott had gone off with Malia, Stiles with Lydia, Derek with Peter, and Hayden with Nolan. So here Liam was, in the creepiest part of the creepiest town. Oh, not to mention, he's lost. He didn't know how that happened. One moment he, Mason and Corey were walking together, talking about Mario Kart to ease their nerves, then Mason said to turn left, and now here he was: lost. _Where did they go?! I turned le-_ Oh. He turned right. _Well that makes more sense!_ Liam's brain taunted him. He'd been wandering around for about 30 minutes without the other two boys, trying to find him. In hindsight, maybe wandering around aimlessly so that Corey and Mason could find him again wasn't the best idea. _No point in stopping now,_ Liam thought, despite the fact that there definitely _was_ a point in stopping so that he was easier to find. 

Liam walked down a ladder, leading into another black, dusty tunnel. He walked through it, scared. He took a left turn this time, as he should've 45 minutes ago, and expected to see yet another tunnel filled with silence. And he got that. But what he didn't expect was a blinding light filling the middle of it. The light bounced into his eyes suddenly, making him scrunch his eyes close and wince. He slowly opened them, slowly seeing more and more of the creature. He could see purple and blue wisp-like tendrils surrounding it. 

The Metamentalgos. 

His eyes widened, as the creature moved closer to him, smoothly, almost as if teleporting. He wanted to run out of the tunnel, but he couldn't. One of those purple-blue, blurry, vein-like appendages wrapped around his wrist. He panicked. He was going to see his most painful memory. _What was it going to be?_ He heard a whooshing sound around him, as he was sucked into the realm of his trauma. He braced himself, closing his eyes despite knowing it wasn't going to do anything. The whooshing sound stopped, which he assumed to mean that he was now in a place of the past. _Was it going to be about my dad? Brett? Lori?_ He refused to open his eyes, not until something happened, at least. Thoughts clouded his mind, nose breathing heavily. However, he was interrupted by gurgling and crying. He raised an eyebrow, eyes still closed, turning towards the place of the sound. Then, someone spoke. 

" _Congratulations, it's a boy!_ " 

Liam opened his eyes. His most painful memory was most certainly not when he was born. When his eyes fully adjusted, he realized that this had nothing to do with him at all. That wasn't his mother sitting in the hospital bed, or his dad standing next to her. And he definitely didn't have a sister named Tara that the doctor's could call into the room. He watched as the three of them gushed over the new baby. His mother's name wasn't Selena. And his dad's name wasn't Ryan. And he knew, for sure, that this wasn't him, when the doctor in the room finally said, _"Mrs. Raeken..."_ followed by medical statements. 

This wasn't his life. It was Theo's.

Theo Raeken's.

But why?

How?

He wasn't Theo. 

Despite all his thoughts, he stood there, watching silently, as Theo's most painful memory played out. 

He had always wondered what had caused Theo the most pain. 

Now he was about to find out. 


	30. Connection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam informs everyone about what happened. He thinks he knows how it happened, but he's slightly off mark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awww 80 Kudos tysm!!! ILY ALL!!! <33
> 
> anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter. we're getting close to a very important part of the story ;)

Liam stood there, shocked, mouth agape. The Metamentalgos had disappeared once it put Liam back in modern time, but now he knew that it was underground. However, he had bigger fish to fry. He had just snapped out of Theo's life, and needless to say, he was...speechless. He had seen everything, from Theo's mom and dad to him being homeless. _I thought it was supposed to show me ONE memory, the most painful one._ Then he got it- Theo's ENTIRE LIFE was his most painful memory. Normally, he would think it to be cliche. The typical bad boy's entire life has ruined him which is why he's so rebellious. However, Theo wasn't exactly a typical bad boy. He wasn't a I-smoke-and-drink-alcohol-because-of-my-home-life kind of bad boy. He was more a I'm-a-sociopathic-ex-murderer-who-lived-in-captivity-and-then-Hell-and-then-was-homeless-and-I-am-now-just-trying-to-survive kind of bad boy. So...not exactly a cliche.

Still, Liam was definitely going to have nightmares about it. At least he knew why Theo was in so much pain? It was a futile attempt to make himself feel better for the chimera, and definitely didn't work. But why? Why did he see Theo's life instead of his own. How? He searched himself, trying to find any connection to him and the chimera in contemporary time. Then he realized. _This was Theo's jacket!_ He had complained about the tunnels being cold before he left Scott's house, and Theo had given him his jacket. Remembering that made him feel all warm inside, and not because of the jacket. He pushed that away though, and focused on the more important matter. He was wearing Theo's jacket, and then he saw Theo's life. _Whoever the thing the Metamentalgos is touching belongs to must be the person whose most painful memory will be shown!_ This was a revelation. And it was good news. First off, it meant that the Metamentalgos couldn't show anyone their most painful memory without touching them, so all they had to do was avoid its grasp, and second off, if they did get touched by the creature, they just had to be wearing someone else's clothes. Right? Right. So that's why it showed Theo's life when it had touched Liam. Because he was wearing Theo's clothes. He suddenly heard an echoing voice.

"Liam?! Liam!"

It was Mason.

He called back, assuring them he was here, and telling them he had some big news. As he made his way back to the couple, he ignored the small tingle he got up his back when he thought of how maybe he saw Theo's life not because the jacket was Theo's, but because _he_ was Theo's.

_STOP IT, BRAIN._ He forced the thoughts out of his brain, and he looked up.

**_*CRASH*_ **

"OW!" he exclaimed.

"Right back at ya," the thing he rushed into said, sarcastically. Liam's eyes shot up, only to see Mason rolling his eyes behind Corey, who was massaging his own head from where the point of impact occurred.

"Oh. Sorry guys," Liam said, wincing slightly.

"Jesus dude, where were you?! We've been looking for an hour!" Mason exclaimed, while Corey gave him bitter look that basically said, "for shame."

"I got lost, I turned right instead of left but-" He was cut off by his friends' groans of exasperation and eye rolls, along with mutterings of what sounded remarkably like, "idiot." He shushed them, then continued. "ahem, BUT...I saw the creature!"

Mason and Corey looked at him, flabbergasted. Mason spoke. "You mean the-"

"The Metamentalgos," Liam confirmed. The two lovers looked at each other, then the dumb werewolf in surprise, almost shocked that he managed to do something without totally messing it up. The next thing he knew, he was being hugged and fist bumped, and exclamations of praise were tossed around.

They walked back up the tunnels again, and once they got service they called Scott, informing him that Liam had found the creature.

Now they were all at back at Scott's house, looking both proudly and expectantly at Liam.

"Well?!" Stiles exclaimed.

"I told you on the phone, I found it!" Liam said back.

"Wait, if you ran into it, didn't it show you your most painful memory?" Malia asked, curious.

"That's the weird thing. It didn't show me _my_ most painful memory," Liam explained.

"Let me guess, it showed you someone else's?" Theo suddenly asked.

Liam looked at him, shocked. "Yeah, how'd you know?" he asked.

"We figured something out while you were gone," Theo explained, flipping through a book on the table. "Here it is," he said, then began reading an excerpt from the page, "'The Metamentalgos shows a person their own most painful memory, with only one exception. Sometimes the creature will show their victim another person's most painful memory, but not just any random person- someone they have a deep connection to. Normally, this other person would be someone the victim has thought a lot about, or someone the victim cares for significantly more than others. It does this to cause its victim perhaps even _more_ pain than they would have felt had they seen their own worst memory.'" He closed the book, then looked at Liam expectantly. "So, who's worst memory did you see?"

Liam opened and closed his mouth like a goldfish, his pea-sized brain trying to think of someone to say. "Oh, um, my mom's. Yeah."

"What was it?" Theo asked skeptically. _Damn that boy,_ Liam thought.

"Oh, just of...my dad, and stuff, ya know." That seemed to get everyone off his case, and it earned a sympathetic pat on the back from Scott.

Liam's head worked up only one thought: _Well, fuck._

Liam guessed he was wrong, then. It wasn't related to the clothes the person was wearing. It was related to the person that the victim had a deep connection to. But he and Theo didn't have a deep connection. Did they? Liam's brain tried concocting an excuse.

_Oh, it's because Theo and I are anchors!_ That was good enough for Liam. They're deep relationship was being anchors. Nothing else.

Nothing else at all.


	31. B-raeken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Theo breaks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...y’all gonna hate me for this sowwy
> 
> but it’s not over don’t worry <333 
> 
> I hope u enjoy this chapter!!!
> 
> (ps im pretty proud of the name of this chapter teehee)

It's now the Friday the 15th, and everyone's in school. They had figured out a pattern in the Metamentalgos' movement, which they would discuss more over the pack meeting. Oh, and it was the last day of school. The graduation ceremony had already happened, so today was simply filled with speeches and no schoolwork. Liam could smell the jealousy rolling off of Theo. Liam felt bad for the chimera, especially after seeing his life. He was really smart, and it wasn't fair that he couldn't graduate.

Now school was over, and all the kids rushed out of the buildings, throwing papers in the air, cheering and whooping.  
The pack was amongst them, except for Theo, who walked out monotonously. He and Liam hopped into the truck, driving over to Scott's house. They talked about a lot, ranging from night terror pills to Animal Crossing. Their friendship had gotten airtight ever since Theo moved in. Nothing could change it.

Now they were all at Scott's house, congratulating and hugging each other. Once that was over, they got to the plan.

"Alright, so we've figured out that the Metamentalgos travels underground, can show not only the victim's worst memory, but also someone else's that the victim is close to, and we still don't have a way to stop it yet," Scott said informatively. He rolled out a paper with writing and what looked like a map of Beacon Hills underground. "Ok, so we know that it travels ONLY underground, until approaching a new city or town. So here's what we do. The sheriff and his workers are down in the tunnels right now, and they're sealing off the tunnel doors that lead to other towns. They should be done soon. Once that happens, me and Malia are going to go underground, and track the Metamentalgos with this heat identifier. The Metamentalgos gives off extreme levels of heat from the blinding light it has in the middle, so we'll know where it is without bumping into it. As it keeps moving, we'll close off tunnels, which will limit the number of places it can go. We'll narrow it down to a smaller amount of tunnels, but we can't put it down to one. The risk of running into it will be too great, and there won't be enough tunnels and sewers left to support Beacon Hills. We'll probably leave about six or seven open. Then, we'll pair up and each go down into a tunnel. There'll be a pair in each tunnel. We'll wait for the Metamentalgos to wander into any, and the pair that is guarding the tunnel the creature's in will have to run out and conceal it into that one tunnel. Then we'll immediately open the tunnels back up, and think of a way to stop it. Sound good?"

The pack nodded in agreement.

"What are the pairs going to be?" Theo asked.

"Is he even coming?" Malia asked Scott, skeptically. The pack made sounds of questioning, asking the same thing.

Luckily, Scott cleared things up. "Yes, Theo's coming with us. Why shouldn't he? He'll be a good bait." Well, it was never said that he did it well.

Theo's eyes went from the ivy green they normally were to a pale, grey color. The ones he always had when he was sad. Broken. The idea that Scott wanted to use his pain... as bait. It tore him apart.

"Scott, I'm not just bait. And you, out of everyone, should know that. We were _friends_ , Scott. You should know my pain isn't something for you to take advantage of. My sister, my parents, my time with the Dread Doctors, my time in Hell, my homelessness, my falling in _love with someone I can't have_ ; they're not there for you to take advantage of," Theo whispered, tears threatening to fall from his eyes. He gave Scott one more look, one of the most depressed looks on the planet, before turning around and leaving the house. 

Everyone in the room stood, shocked. The pack was emitting confusion and anger, except for Corey, Mason, and now Nolan, who had become friends with Theo the more and more he went over to the Geyer's house. Liam looked at everyone, and then turned on his heel, going out the front door, looking for the chimera. He was Theo's anchor, after all.

He ran after Theo, who was just walking into the woods, and hadn't gotten far. He ran up beside the boy, looking at the deadpan look he had on his face.

"Theo, are you ok?"

"Do I look ok?" Theo deadpanned. Liam was silent. Theo sighed, and said, "Sorry, I'm just not in a very... _enthused_ mood."

Liam snickered, and said, "Yeah, I noticed." Theo smiled a little.

The two walked in comfortable silence for a while, until they were in the middle of the town's woods.

"You're still going to help us, right?" Liam asked suddenly.

Theo looked at him, and said, "Of course I am. I just wanted a little break."

"Of course," Liam said back, "I'm sorry about that."

"It's okay," Theo whispered.

They walked on for about a minute, before a question rose up in Liam's head, and out of his mouth. "You said that you fell in love with someone you couldn't have."

Theo sighed, and nodded. He knew that was going to bite him in the ass later.

"You've never mentioned them before. Who are they? Maybe Mason, Corey, Nolan and I could help you get them!" the beta exclaimed, extremely curious and excited about who it was. He didn't miss the trickle of jealousy in his stomach, however. _WHY AM I JEALOUS?_

Theo looked at the boy, then down at the ground. "I doubt you could help me get them, Li. Or that you'd want to know."

Liam pouted a bit, and asked, "Why not?"

_It's now or never, Raeken. You've already said too much, you might as well go all the way._

"Because its you, Liam, I like you."

Liam widened his eyes and froze, making eye contact with the chimera. _Oh my god,_ was the only thing running through his head right now. Theo liked him. As in like-liked him. Why? How? Did he like Theo back? What about Hayden? Is that why he felt so weird near Theo? Is that why the Metamentalgos showed him Theo's most painful memory instead of his own?

Too many questions, too much confusion, too much frustration. The thought process of IED. This was all so new to him. Too new to him. He was so confused, and he didn't know what to do.

So, he did something he did know how to do.

He punched Theo in the face.


	32. Awkward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As expected, Theo and Liam are feeling a bit...awkward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> eep thank u guys for all the lovely comments they're so sweet!
> 
> have a great day, and enjoy this chapter!

Blood from Theo's nose splattered onto the grassy ground.

"Liam, what the hell?!" Theo yelled, groaning at the sudden pain.

"I-I-uh," Liam stuttered, eyes wide in shock and horror as he realized what he had done.

Theo looked at him in shock and pain, and then turned around to exit the woods, stumbling off to his truck. He still needed to give Liam a ride home, but he sure as hell didn't want to be near him right now.

Despite everything Theo's been through, that was probably the most painful thing in his life. The love of his life just _punched him_ in the _face_. It didn't even hurt that much physically. The fact that Liam hated the idea of Theo liking him so much that he was willing to ruin their friendship, that's what hurt. Theo was normally a pessimist, as expected, but when it came to this, a tiny sliver of him hoped that this was just Liam's tiny brain going into overload and therefore punching him, and Liam didn't actually hate Theo's guts. Of course, Theo told this part of his brain to shut up, because it was only going to get his hopes up and then crushed again. He sat in his car, waiting for the beta to arrive so they could drive home.

About fifteen minutes later he got a text.

 **Liam:** Mason is giving me a ride back.

_Well, that hurt._

Luckily, he didn't need to talk to the boy, and there would be no uncomfortable silence. At least until both of them got home.

Well, getting home took a lot shorter than Theo would've hoped for. He was at the house in about fifteen minutes, Liam already home.

Liam had asked to stay over at Mason's, but Mason and Cory were busy. So now he was stuck at his house, and Theo's truck had just pulled up. He groaned and plonked his head into his pillow, anticipating in apprehension the arrival of the chimera. But he never came inside.

Theo was about to walk into the house when he realized the severity of the situation at hand. First off, his one true love was the connection to his other friends. Second off, his one true love was his connection to the pack. Third off, his one true love now hated him. If Liam told anyone about this, he would lose all his friends and the almost-relationship he had to the pack. If he said to his parents that he wanted Theo out of the house, they probably would listen to him. Not to mention, he just came out to Liam, who just punched him in the face. Obviously, Liam's not homophobic, his best friends are a gay couple. _He's just...Theophobic. Was that supposed to make me feel better?_ The fact that he just came out to someone was pretty intense, too. As what, he didn't know. Pansexual? Bisexual? Gay? He didn't have a label for it, he just wanted Liam.

So, in other words, Theo's life was ruined, so he decided to stay inside his truck for the night. _Just like old times_ , he thought, gritting his teeth slightly. It was now 10:40 PM, and although it was the weekend tomorrow, he decided to get to sleep. After all, with his anchor destroying his (sister's) heart, it wasn't like he was going to get much sleep anyway.

And he didn't.

Liam didn't get much sleep either, which was surprising, because as far as anyone knew, he didn't have night terror. No, the thing keeping Liam up was, as expected, the events of today. He had punched his anchor in the face. _Who does that?!_ Oh, not to mention, Theo had come out to him and he just...hit his face and ran away without saying anything. _GAH, I'M A HORRIBLE PERSON!_ He groaned, face still deep into the pillow. This was bad. This was bad, bad. Why did he do it?

Easy. He didn't like Theo. _What, are you just going to punch every person you're not in love with, Dunbar?_ Sometimes he wished he could punch his own brains out.

Wait, did he like Theo? _No, don't be ridiculous, Hayden's my girlfriend!_ But that didn't mean he couldn't be in love with someone else. _YES IT DOES. I AM A MONOGAMOUS, STRAIGHT BOY. I CAN'T BE IN LOVE WITH ANYONE ELSE, ESPECIALLY A BOY._

Well, he was monogamous. But was he straight? He never felt a romantic attraction for a boy, has he? Was that what he felt with Theo? Is that why the Metamentalgos showed him Theo's life? Is that why he punched him in the face?

Then came up the other issue. He couldn't be in love with Theo, because he was in love with Hayden, and he didn't want to date two people at the same time.

But, that was the thing. Did he even love Hayden? _OF COURSE I DO!_

He questioned himself the entire night, and eventually fell asleep at 3:50 AM, Saturday, June 16th, with a displeased frown on his face, unsatisfied.

The next couple of days were filled with the most awkwardness two humans could muster. Whenever Theo and Liam were in a room together they would avoid eye contact, saying only "hello", then leaving as soon as they could. Liam's parents were suspicious, and concerned, as Theo was sleeping and spending more time in his truck. Upon asking Liam, however, he had told them they had gotten into a small fight, and needed some time apart. The believed him, and left it at that. Liam was also getting a bit worried. Theo couldn't sleep in that truck for the rest of the year.

They had to end this, and fast. But the only way to end this was for Liam to figure out who he was and who he liked, and he was way too clueless to figure that out.

So now, it was June 20th, and Theo and Liam still hadn't talked about Friday. Things became more and more awkward everyday. Especially when Mason invited them to hang out with Corey and him on the 17th. They went, of course, but it was painfully obvious something was going on. Corey could tell even without the smell of awkwardness coming from both of them, and Mason didn't even need to be supernatural to know. He is a genius, though. Still, neither of them brought it up, which both Theo and Liam were eternally grateful for. Not to mention, school was out, so they had to be in the same house when Theo wasn't in his truck.

Things got even worse when Scott called a pack meeting today. Liam really didn't want to see the pack right now, especially since they kind of caused all this. And to top it all off, he texted Liam:

 **Scottie** : bring Theo.


	33. Partners

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Despite their best attempts to steer clear of each other, Theo and Liam find themselves sitting one foot apart in a small tunnel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi loves, tysm for commenting, leaving kudos, bookmarking, and reading! love u lots!!!!
> 
> i hope u enjoy the chapter! <333

So...

Theo and Liam were standing about two feet apart in Scott's house, awkward tension filling the entire room. Theo made no eye contact with the pack, for obvious reasons. The pack, troubled and angry after Theo's explosion at them, made no eye contact with Theo either. Liam didn't dare turn to look at Theo, and vice versa. They all found sanctuary by looking down at the floor or up at the ceiling. Mason and Corey were the only ones who noticed, again, the tension between Liam and Theo, but refused to mention it.

After an unnatural amount of uncomfortable silence, Scott decided to speak. Or rather, cough. "Ahem." But then he spoke. "So, the sheriff told me that they're all finished up. They've closed off all the tunnels except for six. Only one entrance to the tunnel will be open, that way the Metamentalgos can only enter, and not escape. If it comes into your tunnel, immediately run out of the entrance and close it. Then run to everyone else's tunnels and tell them you caught it. It's a bit of a workout, but we can't communicate any other way- cell phones lose service, walkie-talkies become static, and we'll be too spread out to yell out to one another. Under no circumstances are you to leave the tunnel before the creature comes into it, or keep it open once the Metamentalgos comes in. Understood?"

A nod of affirmation was given to him, and he continued. "All right, here are the teams. Me and Malia, Stiles and Lydia, Mason and Corey, Hayden and Nolan, Derek and Peter, and Theo and Liam."

Theo's head snapped up from gazing at the floor, and Liam's eyes widened. "Um, d-don't you think I should have another partner?" Liam asked hopefully.

Scott looked at them, confused. "As of right now, the only people that can stand Theo are you, Mason, Corey and Nolan. You and Theo have the best rapport, so I thought it'd be a good match. Why?"

Liam knew that if he protested anymore the pack would become curious and figure out something had happened between the two, so instead he just shook his head and said, "Nothing, I just thought that you wouldn't want me being near Theo." Theo coughed and nodded, and that was the end of that.

"Okay..." Scott said both slowly and skeptically, but continued on, "let's get going then. My mom, the sheriff, Deaton and Argent will stay behind, monitoring for any above-ground activity."

Now the pack were in their respective places, each in a tunnel with one entrance open, the other sealed shut. Liam and Theo say on the metal bench attached to the wall, most likely there for the underground workers to sit and rest on. They sat about one foot part, each stealing glances at each other, but for the most part looking either at the ceiling, the wall parallel to them, or the floor. The room was illuminated in a sickly dark green color, coming from the color of the tunnels and the dim lights at the top of the room.

It had been about twenty minutes since they came into the tunnels. Theo tapped his foot on the ground, and Liam coughed. But then he coughed again. And another time. And another. Theo turned to look at him, suddenly feeling a little stuffy himself.

"What's wrong?" Theo asked.

Liam turned and answered."Nothing, I just-" A cough. "My throat's feeling weird."

"Funny, mine too," Theo responded, standing up and looking around. He expected it to be because of the poor air quality, being in tunnels and all. He knelt down on the ground, near the vent system. However, as soon as he got down to the level of the vent, he let out a giant cough, and turned his head away in instinct, feeling sick and breathless.

"What is it?" Liam asked, worried.

Theo looked at the vent at a distance, still on the ground but not nearly as close as he used to be. The Dread Doctors trained him to identify practically anything. This was one of them. He knew what it was.

Theo looked mildly panicked, lips pursed slightly, eyebrows furrowing, turning his head to face Liam. He said, in a rather hurrying tone, two words.

"It's poison."


	34. Please, Theo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam has a plan, but it's risky. Will Theo agree to it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank u guys for all the love on my story, im working on a new one for when i finish this!
> 
> thank u again, and i hope u enjoy the chapter <333333

_"It's poison."_

"I'm sorry, what do you mean by _poison_?" Liam asked both dubiously and saltily.

"What do you think, dumbass?" Theo responded, in the same sardonic tone.

Liam rolled his eyes quickly, but neither missed the panic rising in each other. "Why is there poison?!" Liam asked, panic more obvious in his voice.

"I can't know for sure, but I might have a theory," Theo answered, then slowly crept up to the vent to waft it into his nose. He coughed, then nodded. "Yup, I was right."

"What? What is it?" Liam asked anxiously.

"It's Zyxess 45."

Liam stared blankly and blinked at him, unimpressed, then said, "English, please."

Theo rolled his eyes and looked _done_ , but nevertheless he explained. "Zyxess 45 is a gas, and like all gas, it's poisonous when consumed too much. However, it's not supposed to kill anyone, nothing like hydrogen sulfide. It's normally used for booby traps or science, not for killing people intentionally. I'm betting it has nothing to do with the Metamentalgos, or any hunters that have found us- If someone was trying to kill us, they wouldn't do it with Zyxess 45."

"So, why is it here?" Liam asked.

"I'm betting that it's a security system. Beacon Hills is an isolated town- it's not connected to any big cities, so it's tunnel system is the only tunnel system supporting this town, so it's pretty important. I'm guessing since Scott and the others closed off most of the tunnels, the security system took that to be a threat of an intruder intending to break down the tunnels and so it set off the gas."

"Why poison, though?"

"Like I said, it's not an instant killer. They probably use Zyxess 45 as a warning, trying to scare the potential intruders away. Yes, it could kill them, but they'd probably figure out that the tunnels were trying to get rid of them and escape before it became lethal."

"So it's protecting the tunnels from anyone they think are trying to hijack or destroy it?"

"Yup. If any tunnels are closed off, or if anything is broken, it'll go off."

"Wait, are the others getting the gas too?" Liam asked, looking around, the smell much more pungent.

"No, they-" Theo interrupted himself with a cough. "They can't. Not now at least. We're in one of the further tunnels, the ones closer to the entrance and exit of the tunnel system. That's where the gas starts to go off once they detect an irregularity, so that the intruders will get scared off right as they get in, so they can't cause too much damage before leaving. It'll keep traveling, though. So let's get out of here," Theo said, standing up, intending to walk out, but stopped by Liam's hand grabbing his wrist.

"What, no! We can't leave, Scott said no matter what!" Liam exclaimed adamantly.

"Liam, I kinda feel like POISONOUS GAS IS AN EXCEPTION!" Theo yelled.

"ITS NOT!" Liam yelled back, "THIS CREATURE IS KILLING PEOPLE, WE NEED TO STOP IT!"

"What, and you think killing the pack is gonna help you save everyone else?! If we don't leave, this gas will kill everybody!" Theo said back.

"Well, how do we stop it from killing everyone else?" Liam asked, now crossing him arms.

Theo sighed, then said, "Well, we can either do the sane thing and LEAVE," Theo enunciated the "leave" earning a glare from Liam, then continued, "or-"

"Wait!" Liam exclaimed, interrupting Theo. Theo looked at him expectantly. "What if we left this tunnel and closed it off? The gas would be isolated in only this tunnel, it would be one less tunnel the Metamentalgos could go into, we could easily avoid the creature, and I'm sure that closing off one more tunnel wouldn't make the tunnel system break down, right?"

Theo shook his head. "I mean, you're right, one more tunnel isn't going to cause the tunnels to break down, and it would help narrow down the places the Metamentalgos could go, and we could avoid to easily, but it wouldn't work. There are pressure calculators in all tunnels and sewers. They are there so that the tunnels can calculate how much pressure there is, and so if there's an overload, they can alert the people who work with these tunnels. But like a lot of other tunnel systems I've researched, they also use the pressure system to track intruders. Right now, this vent is the only one emitting gas, because the pressure system can tell that we are here. The poison only comes out of one vent at a time, and since we are the ones closest to the entrance, we are considered to be intruders, while the pack just seem like extra weight, which is why they're not getting gassed. If the tunnels sense that our weight has moved, the vent closest to us will emit gas. We can't escape it until we _leave_."

"Wait, you said that if we didn't leave the tunnels, then all of us will get poisoned. But how can that happen if only one vent emits gas at a time?"

"It's because our tunnel door is open. The gas is being carried through the air as we speak. I'm betting since we're so spaced out, it hasn't gotten to them yet."

"Wait, so what we need to do is find a way to stop the gas without leaving the tunnel, right?" Liam asked, his brain at work.

Theo said, "Yes, but the only way to do that is to-" But Liam was one step ahead of him. He rushed to the open entrance of the tunnel, two hands starting to push it closed. "What the hell are you doing?!" Theo exclaimed, shoving him away from the door.

"I'm closing the door!" Liam answered, shoving him a little.

"If you do that, you'll trap _all_ the gas into _this_ tunnel- we'll die!" Theo exclaimed.

"What, you have a better idea? Do we just let the gas spread through the entire tunnel system, killing _all_ of us?! At least this way, the rest of the pack will survive!"

"And you don't care if you die? If _we_ die?!"

"We might not even die! If the pack finds the Metamentalgos, they'll come and tell us, and then they'll help us and we'll all escape! But yeah, it's better than all of us dying, isn't it!"

"Speak for yourself, Liam, I'd like to live," Theo said, despite that it was a stone-cold lie. He had no clue what he would do with himself if Liam died. He'd probably kill himself if he did.

"Please, Theo!" Liam said. Theo's face softened, eyes widening slightly. _Damn that boy_ , Theo thought. Liam knew how to make Theo weak. It should be concerning, but it wasn't. Hearing Liam beg him to help was just too much, and he simply grunted and shoved the entrance closed, with much more ease than Liam.

Liam looked at him, and grinned. Theo couldn't help but roll his eyes, but the fondness in his eyes and the smile playing on his lips weren't missed by Liam.


	35. Intoxicated

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam intoxicated, but not just on gas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> omg i dont wanna spoil shit but EEEEEEE 
> 
> also tysm for reading, i really hope u enjoy the chapter!! <33333

Theo and Liam were back on the metal bench. It had been about 30 minutes since they closed the door and trapped themselves in here. The sewer system hadn't collapsed, so that was good. Not to mention, they lowered the number of places the Metamentalgos could travel to, which was an added bonus. What wasn't a bonus was the fact that their coughing had become much more frequent, and it became more dry and hacking. Liam sat closer to Theo, leaning to the side the chimera was on, but not leaning on him. Liam seemed to be suffering the effects more than Theo was, probably because the chimera had built up immunity to a lot of pain. Liam coughed loudly, throat closing up a little, and leaned over slightly while he coughed. Theo looked at him in concern. He may have broken his sister's heart, but Liam was still his best friend, and crush. Theo put a hand on his back, as Liam coughed louder and louder, he himself coughing a little as well.

When Liam was finished, he sat back up again, and Theo removed his hand. Liam scooted closer to the chimera. Liam wasn't exactly happy being stuck with Theo, the guy who had a big crush on him and was making him question everything about himself, but it was better than nothing, so here he was, now inches to Theo, laying his hand over his. Theo looked at him, lips quirking a little. At least he would die with Liam.

Liam looked back at him, seeming to read his thoughts, and said, "We're not gonna make it, are we?"

Theo looked at him, a bit shocked at the normally optimistic beta's pessimistic tone. "This was your plan, little wolf."

"I know, and its a good plan- it saves the pack and increases their chances of finding this thing, but that doesn't answer my question."

 _How exactly do you tell your crush that they're about to die?_ Seeing the look in Liam's eyes, all Theo could say was, "I don't know. If the pack can find and capture the creature fast enough, then they'll come and save us."

"But they're not gonna do it fast enough, are they?" Liam asked, giving Theo a look that made his heart droop. "It's already becoming-" Cough. "Hard to breathe."

Theo looked down, not saying anything. Truth was, the tunnel system was big. It could take the Metamentalgos an hour more to get captured. They would most certainly be dead by then. Theo's silence was answer enough.

Liam nodded. "I thought so," he said.

Theo stared down at the ground still, but now started to speak. "I'm sorry."

Liam looked at him, tilting his head to the right, questioning him.

"I'm sorry about everything."

"Theo, you don't-"

"Liam, we're about to die, at least let me get stuff off my chest."

Liam was silent, a sympathetic smirk on his face.

"I'm sorry about everything I've done in the past, how I've ruined your relationship with the pack, how I've ruined _our_ relationship."

Liam's smile dropped, and he opened his mouth. "Theo, you haven't ruined our relationship. I did. I really shouldn't have punched you in the face. I'm really sorry."

"It's ok."

The two had been coughing the entire time, and it was only getting worse.

Theo spoke. "Just-" Cough. "Wanted to-" Cough. "Get that off my chest. Or rather my sister's chest."

Liam laughed at the dark joke, a sympathy laugh, of course. It was a beautiful sound, Theo decided. He's glad it would be one of the last things he heard. He smiled at the beta.

The two silenced for a bit, not uncomfortably, just reflecting on the situation at hand. Liam stared at the ground. Was he in love with Theo? Nobody made him feel the way he did. Nobody made his stomach twist when they smiled, nobody made him want to hug them tight and tell them that everything was going to be OK, there was nobody who he wanted to die in a gassed tunnel with...except Theo.

 _That's not because we're anchors._ Liam knew that much. And if it wasn't because they were friends, what else could it be? But wasn't he straight? Maybe he wasn't. All he knew is that being here with Theo felt right. Liam willed his mind to reflect on everything that had happened these past two months or so. Thinking of Theo when he was with Hayden, finding Theo cute, being sad when Theo was sad, wishing he could protect Theo from his past, reacting the way he did when Theo told him he liked him. He thought about the latter some more. No sane person would punch the person who had a crush on them simply because they didn't feel the same way. He was left with two possibilities: either he's homophobic, or he didn't know what else to do because he felt the same way. He was betting on the latter. But his own stupidity was confusing the hell out of him. Theo was lucky- he was smart, and he knew how to sort out his feelings.

Liam, on the other hand, knew that there was something in the way he felt about Theo, but he didn't know what. When you don't know the answer, you have to take a chance.

Liam took a deep breathe of gassed air into his lungs, regretting it immediately. When he recovered from his coughing fit, Theo was looking at him.

_Way to get his attention, Dunbar._

Liam began to speak. "Speaking of things we want to get off _our_ chests before we die," he said, emphasizing the "our", making sure Theo knew that it was _his_ heart in a sense, and not his sister's. Theo chuckled, and Liam softly smiled.

He remembered what he was going to say, but seeing Theo smile made him so vulnerable and nervous. _Take a chance, Dunbar._ He coughed, now with a straight face. Theo faced him, still smiling softly, but also gazing into Liam's eyes.

Liam spoke, turning his body away from Theo's, looking down at the ground. "Theo, I lik-"

But he couldn't finish his sentence. He suddenly stopped breathing. Not because of the gas, however.

But because it's hard to talk when you're being kissed.


	36. Miracle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Help is on the way!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG IT HAPPENED OMG STAY CALM STAY FUCKING CALM OMG (office reference teehee)
> 
> k im done but tysm for reading! <33333
> 
> i hope u enjoy the chapter!!! <3

Theo's lips were rough, yet soft in a strange way. They were pressed lightly against Liam's. Liam was wide-eyed for a second, but melted into the kiss after he processed what was happening. It felt right. Better than when he kissed Hayden. He pressed his lips back against Theo's. They stayed like that for about five seconds, until Theo pulled back softly, his eyes open, Liam's eyes beginning to flutter open as well.

" _Please_ tell me you were about to say that you liked me," Theo said, chuckling. Liam smiled and laughed softly along with him.

"Of course I was, you idiot," Liam said back, Theo raising an eyebrow.

" _I'm_ the idiot? I don't think I'm the one who punched you when you said that you liked me." Liam pushed Theo on the shoulder, both of them laughing.

"An ex-murder whom I used to hate that now lives with me tells me that they like me! How would you react?!"

"Touche," Theo said, putting his hands up in mock-surrender. "Also, you actually used the word "whom" correctly. I'm impressed."

Liam rolled his eyes, but then coughed. The harsh realization that they both were going to die soon if someone didn't find the Metamentalgos in time came flooding back. Their smiles shrunk a little, and Liam scooted closer to Theo so that the sides of their bodies were touching. He rested his head lightly against Theo's shoulder.

Liam spoke after a little."Well, I guess-" Theo will never know what Liam guessed, because in that moment, the entrance to their tunnel was being opened, and Theo and Liam quickly separated themselves from the embrace.

"What the Hell is going on?! Ugh, what's wrong with the air in here?"

Stiles.

He was coughing and crinkling his nose, Lydia and the pack next to him, doing the same.

Theo looked relieved and Liam smiled in joy. "Guys!" the beta exclaimed. "We'll explain later, but we have to get out of here, right now!"

The pack nodded, and all of them joined together, escaping the gas-filled tunnel.

"Alright, give it a few more minutes to air out!" the sheriff yelled to his coworkers.

The pack was now out of the tunnel, and had alerted Melissa, Deaton, and the sheriff of the situation, the latter of which had called the rest of the police department and underground workers to help air out the tunnels.

Theo and Liam had explained everything in detail, except for the fact that they kissed, of course. The pack was very sympathetic- towards Liam, at least. They asked if Theo was ok and everything, which was good enough for the chimera. Mason, Nolan and Corey made sure the _both_ of them were feeling well, of course. Once they had gotten out, Hayden had pulled Liam in for a kiss, and which had made Theo feel nervous. Was Liam going to continue dating Hayden, and pretend that they never kissed?But then, Liam had glanced at him while locking lips with Hayden reluctantly, and he felt at peace again.

Apparently, the Metamentalgos had been caught by Stiles and Lydia, about 15 minutes before they got to Liam and Theo's tunnel. Not a moment too late, apparently. Deaton has said if they stayed in there for ten minutes longer, they'd start experiencing more dire symptoms that quickly would've lead to death. The sheriff and his team were almost done airing out the tunnels, John muttering something about fixing the security system. It was apparently made by the people who lived in this town about a century before them, so no one in the contemporary era knew of the dangerous security system in place.

It was late now. About 8:45 PM. Liam and Theo were tired. Things hadn't gone well since the last day of school, and needless to say it had taken a toll on both of them.

The pack and Theo said goodbye to each other, everyone heading to their homes.

Theo and Liam arrived at their house, greeted by Jenna and David at the dinner table. The four of them sat down and talked, eating pasta and laughing.

_Theo looked beautiful when he laughed_ , Liam thought. The thing that made his laugh so beautiful was how rare it was. How he usually never laughed, so when he did, you knew it was genuine. How his dimples formed, and his perfect teeth showed. How you could see the tiny crow's feet on his face. And, well, he was also pretty hot.

_How did I think I was straight, again?_

Once they finished dinner, the boys walked upstairs and got ready for bed. Liam went over to Theo's room, which looked supposedly innocuous to his parents. After all, he did this all the time, to help Theo with his nightmares. There was excitement floating in Liam's stomach, knowing that walking into Theo's room was entirely different now.

_Get it together, Liam!_

He got into Theo's bed, right next to the other boy, and snuggled up against his chest.

"I really like you, Theo."

"Yeah, no shit."

Liam looked up at Theo and gave him a "really?" look, secretly amused.

Theo smirked back, and hugged the boy while saying, "I really like you too, Li."

"Ugh! How corny," Liam fake-gagged, earning a flick on the forehead from Theo.

They fell asleep like that, Liam against Theo's chest, Theo's arm around Liam's waist.

Theo slept well that night.

In fact, there was a chance he would never sleep badly again.


	37. Cake by the Ocean is Definitely About Oral Sex!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just pure fluff between the puppy pack cuz we all need it lol

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter title is based on an argument me and my sisters had oop- 
> 
> anyway i hope u enjoy luvs! <333

"Cake by the Ocean is definitely about oral sex!" Theo yelled.

"No, it's not! It's just about eating sugary food by the beach!" Mason retorted.

It was the next day, June 21st, in the afternoon. Mason and Corey had invited Nolan, Theo and Liam to their house to sleepover. Now that things with the Metamentalgos had calmed down for the time being, they thought it'd be good to have some quality time with each other. Liam and Nolan were laughing while Corey looked both amused and exasperated as Theo and Mason continued their conversation about the song, "Cake by the Ocean".

"Who eats cake by the beach?!" Theo yelled out, a smile appearing on his face.

"I don't know, maybe DNCE just likes to eat cake by the beach, you got a problem with that?!" Mason yelled back, his serious face being broken into a smiling one.

Theo gave him a "WTF" look and that was that. All five boys burst out laughing, toppling over and hugging their stomachs or hitting their thighs.

"What the fuck?!" Theo said, mid-laugh.

"I don't know!" Mason responded, completely out of breathe and still howling with laughter.

The boys calmed down after a while, sitting back up again, Liam, Corey and Nolan on a couch, Theo and Liam sitting on the ground in front of them. Liam looked at the TV.

"Oh, good, it's finally loaded," he said, looking at the now-loaded Mario-Kart game on Mason's TV screen they were sitting in front of.

"I'm Yoshi!" Liam declared.

"Dammit, Liam!" Nolan exclaimed, "now who am I gonna be?"

"Well, I'm gonna be Bowser, so you can take that into account and narrow down your choices," Theo said adamantly.

"Gee, thanks, Theo," Nolan said sarcastically.

"You're welcome!" Theo said, bending his head backwards to face Nolan who was behind him.

"I'm gonna be Toad," Mason called out.

"I'll be Shy Guy," Corey decided.

"NOOOOOOOO!" Nolan yelled, turning all his friend's heads, which were looking at him in big shock and confusion. "God dammit, Corey!" Nolan continued.

"I mean, I can be someone else if you want," Corey offered, grinning.

Nolan pouted, then said, "Ugh, it's fine, I'll just be Princess Peach." The rest of the boys broke out into snickers. "WOW, GUYS. REAL MATURE," Nolan exclaimed sardonically.

"We're only laughing because you're just like her," Theo said.

"How am I just like her?!" Nolan exclaimed.

"She's a softie, just like you," Mason chuckled.

"I am NOT a softie! Don't you guys remember how I tried to kill you?!" Nolan reasoned.

"Yeah, so did Theo, and look at him- he's a big old sook," Corey said, grinning.

"Excuse me, am I missing something?" Nolan asked, looking at Theo who was looking confused himself.

"You sure are," Mason said. "You wanna see Theo at an aquarium?"

Horror crossed Theo's face, and he turned his head back to where Mason was handing Nolan his phone. Theo stuttered out, "Uh-we don't h-have to-"

" _Ooooh! Look!_ " Theo in the video said.

_Well, that's that, then,_ Theo thought, blushing as he heard his own excited voice that was at a worryingly high pitch. What was even more embarrassing was the laughter bursting out of Nolan and the others.

"Haha," Theo said dryly, "Hilarious. Can we play the game now?" His voice took on an uncharacteristic begging tone at the end, but his dignity had already been lost, so no point in worrying about it now.

Liam snickered, then said, "Sure, Theo. Alright, what place do we want to race in?"

"Rainbow Road."

"Bowser's Castle."

Nolan and Theo.

They said it perfectly in sync, at the same time. Everyone else looked at the two while the two looked at each other, then they all started laughing once again. Not because anything was particularly funny, but they were all just so happy.

"Actually, let's do Coconut Mall," Liam said as a compromise.

Everyone agreed. Liam clicked on the Coconut Mall icon with his remote, and all hell broke loose.  
  


"FUCK YOU AND YOUR STUPID BANANA, LIAM!" Nolan screamed, dramatically swerving his remote wheel. Liam cackled evilly.

"FOR FUCK'S SAKE, COREY, I HATE YOU!" Mason exclaimed, as Corey passed Mason into 1st place, while Mason moved down to second.

"YOU LOVE ME!" Corey yelled back.

"ALL OF YOU SHUT UP, I'M TRYING TO WIN HERE!" Theo yelled at all of them. Showing dramatic emotions isn't something he would normally do, but being with Mason, Corey, Liam and Nolan had him relaxing, allowing him to be goofier.

"OH PUH-LEASE, I'M SO WINNING!" Liam yelled at him.

Nolan, Theo, Corey and Mason all immediately broke out into protests and laughs of disbelief.

"JERKS!" Liam yelled, pouting. Theo resisted the urge to kiss his lips right then and there.

"NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NOOOOOOOOOO!" Nolan screamed, throwing his arms up in defeat, tossing his head back on the sofa. Corey had just won first place, earning jeers from all members, but especially Nolan.

"Yay!" Corey said, which would've been both humble and innocuous if it wasn't for the smug look on his face.

"To anyone who says that you're a modest person, they've clearly never met you," Mason muttered, earning a shove from Corey.

Theo looked at the scores, then remarked, "Jesus, Liam, you suck."

"Um, excuse me?! I do _not_."

"Um, yes you _do_. Look, Corey got 1st place, I got 2nd, Mason got 4th, Nolan got 5th, and you got TWELFTH," Theo retorted. "Not to mention, Corey and I have won five games each, Mason and Nolan have won three, and you've only won ONE."

"I-" was all Liam could say.

"And the only reason you won that one was because the rest of our remotes died!" Mason added.

"I'm not gonna lie guys, I'm feeling kinda attacked!" Liam pouted.

"Makes sense, we're all making fun of you," Nolan snickered, then yelped when Liam threw a pillow at his head. "Oh, so that's how you wanna be, huh?" Nolan said ominously, then chucked the pillow back at Liam, in full force.

"PILLOW FIGHT!" Mason yelled.

He chucked a pillow at Corey, who graciously returned the favor...to Theo. Theo shot up, grabbing three pillows, throwing one after the other at Corey, no time for a break. Liam tossed one at Nolan, while Nolan tossed one at Mason. Mason ran up to Theo and hit his legs, while Theo simultaneously whacked the back of the human's head. Corey hit Nolan to the point where he stumbled back, and Liam stole Corey's pillow and hit him with it. They were all laughing, ducking, throwing, tossing, kicking-

"Boys!" Mason's mom.

"Oh...hi mom," Mason said, as he dropped the pillow in his hands, the rest of the group stopping and looking serious, trying not to burst out into laughter.

She sighed, smiling a little. "What am I going to do with you boys?" They gave her nice smiles, as if they hadn't been hitting each other with pillows five seconds ago. "Anyway, come on, dinner's ready."

Everyone made noises of happiness, rushing into the bathroom to wash their hands.

"Are you boys staying over for the night?" Mason's mom called out to Nolan, Theo and Liam.

"Yup!" the three responded. She nodded, then headed off.

From then, they ate dinner, played Mortal Combat, more Mario Kart, Call of Duty, and Among Us, all of which Liam kind of sucked at. They put the games away after a while and talked over a big tub of ice cream, and fell asleep at around 2:15 AM, practically dog-piling each other like the little pack they were.


	38. Are You My Bae??? *tongue clicks* OR NAHHHHHHH

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam likes to check things, just to be sure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi bbs, so so sorry this took me so long to upload, i was so ✨busy✨ but here it is!!! this is short (sry 🥺) and purely fluffy fluff between the two but itll get smutty soon eheheh... also yes i know the title isnt what the actual vine says but when its like this it makes more sense for the plot and also WHY NOT?
> 
> i hope u like this chapter!! <3333

It was the next day, June 22nd, at 11:30 AM. The boys were currently eating pancakes, courtesy of Mason's mom. They chatted while slurping orange juice and biting into chocolate-chip pancakes doused in syrup, with a slice of butter on the top, and a side of cut strawberries. Mason's mother scolded them for chewing and drinking loudly, but it was all in good nature. In short, it was heaven.

However, heaven can only last so long. Mason had a chess tournament coming up at 12:30 PM, so the boys had to leave. They finished their food, collected their things, and headed to the front door.

"See you guys!" Mason said, patting both of them on the back.

"See you boys!" Mason's mother said, grabbing them into a hug, kissing each of their cheeks. "Don't give Jenna any trouble!" she said, waggling a finger in the air.

Liam laughed. "I won't, I can't make any promises for Theo, though." Theo shoved him lightly.

"Bye, Mase, bye, Corey!" Liam and Nolan said, earning goodbyes from the couple, starting to walk off. Mason's mom, Mason, and Corey walked back from where they were leaning in the door frame back into the house, waving one last time before closing the door.

They said goodbye to Nolan too, who returned the favor before running down the block to where he parked. Once he was out of sight, and there was no sign of Mason and his family lingering at the windows, Liam strung his hand into Theo's.

Theo turned to look down at where their hands were interlocked, then cocked his head to look back at the house, checking to make sure there was no possibility anyone could see. Once he saw the coast was clear, he turned back to look at Liam, and smiled. That smile never failed to infatuate Liam.

He smiled back. "I think we did a pretty good job hiding our relationship," Liam said triumphantly.

Theo scoffed. "Don't flatter yourself, all you had to do was not kiss me."

"Exactly!" Liam exclaimed, "do you know how hard that is?!"

Theo mumbled, "You have no idea."

"So...speaking about our relationship," Liam said slowly, "what exactly are we?"

Theo rolled his eyes. "Cousins, Liam," he said, oozing sarcasm. "What does it look like we are? We're boyfriends."

Liam pouted. "You're mean," he whined, tossing his head onto Theo's shoulder. They had made the short distance to their car, parked right in front of Mason's house, separated by a slightly-larger-than-average walkway. They got into the car. "I was just asking!" Liam exclaimed.

"Well, we kiss, we told each other we liked each other, and we hold hands. I feel like it's pretty obvious that we're boyfriends."

"Ok, fine! But in movies, asking someone to be their boyfriend is, like, a huge deal!"

"This isn't a _movie_ , dumbass; How many movies have you seen that have a teenage werewolf beta with IED fall in love with a cynical, sarcastic, artificially-made chimera with no family?"

Liam huffed, while Theo smirked. Liam sat up after two minutes, while Theo navigated the roads. A sudden burst of happiness hit the beta. He was Theo's _boyfriend_. He knew he sounded like a middle school white boy who just started dating that popular girl, but he had the mentality of a five-year-old, so it wasn't that big of a shock. "So, just to be clear," Liam said, gesturing with his hand like he always did, Theo turning to him, "we're _boyfriends_."

Theo rolled his eyes. "Yes, Liam, we're boyfriends."

Liam let out a squeal of joy, making Theo smile.

The two were now at home, sitting in the family room, watching a movie. Liam's parents were at work, so Liam had no problem leaning on Theo's shoulder. Theo wrapped an arm around him, Liam giggling internally at the cliche. The two watched as Sharpay Evans sang while kids danced at the lunch table.

Theo rolled his eyes. "Musicals are so stupid."

Liam looked at him in shock. "I'm sorry, aren't you the one who was singing the entire Frozen soundtrack when we first had you move in here?"

"Yeah, but that was only because I was high off endorphins from moving in. I'm over it."

"Sure," Liam said, drawled out. "Oh, by the way," Liam said while eating his gummy worms, "I'm going to Hayden's at six tomorrow."

Liam widened his eyes and froze. Theo turned to look at him. Liam practically shouted, "Oh my god; Hayden!"


	39. Liam, the Virgin Shamer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam finds something out about Theo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yall are getting a triple update hehe! 
> 
> i hope you like this chapter!

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" Liam said, muffled, into the throw pillow on the living room sofa. Theo patted his back when smiling. "How could you forget to tell me that I have a girlfriend?!" Liam asked him accusingly.

"Maybe because she's not _my_ girlfriend," Theo answered monotonously.

"Well, now what am I supposed to do?!" Liam asked him.

"Beats me," Theo said, earning an are-you-kidding-me look from Liam. "Just don't tell her yet."

"I can't _not_ tell her! She's my _girlfriend_! I-I'm _cheating_ on her!" This realization hit Liam like a ton of bricks, and he threw he face back in the pillow, screaming, "AHHHHHHHHH!"

"Oh my god, dude, relax," Theo said, smiling. Liam whined into the pillow. "It's not cheating, it's just... telling a white lie. We don't tell her we're dating, we don't get in trouble and she doesn't get hurt- simple."

Liam just stared at him before yelling, "THAT'S WHAT CHEATING _IS_!"

Theo scoffed. "No it's not; look, I'll look it up on Google." Theo typed into his phone, then read the definition. "Here- 'acting dishonestly or unfairly in order to gain an advantage.' That's not what we're doing."

"That's exactly what we're doing!"

"Noooooo... _We_ are lying to not get in trouble and to not hurt Hayden. Big difference." Liam just stared at him. "Yeah, sorry, I got nothing- you're definitely cheating on her."

Liam groaned, then flopped back onto the couch. Then he sat up, nose scrunched up angrily. "This is your fault!"

Theo stared at him confused and mildly offended. " _My_ fault?"

"Yeah, _your_ fault!"

"And how is that?"

"You're the smart one here, not me! You should've told me that I had a girlfriend!"

"She's _your_ girlfriend! How could _you_ not remember?!"

"I don't know, okay! What are we going to do?"

"Let's just not tell her," Theo said, exasperated.

"Dude, do you not remember the whole cheating thing?! It'll go completely against my morals!"

"Pfft, morals. You're so cute," Theo chuckled. Liam rolled his eyes. "Look, let's just...not focus on it right now."

"Ugh, fine," Liam agreed, and he unpaused High School Musical.

Now it was around 3:45 PM, about four hours from when they got home from Mason's.

They were now watching Phineas and Ferb, currently laughing at Major Monogram.

Liam's parents suddenly texted.

**mom** : **hey kiddo! dad and I won't be home until midnight :((( but I'm sure u guys will do just fine! heat up some left over chicken in the fridge for dinner! love u both!**

Liam moved his hands to respond.

**got it, love u too :)**

"Alright, my mom and my dad aren't gonna be home until midnight," Liam said, unintentionally sounding excited.

Theo rolled his eyes and smiled. "Try not to sound so excited, little wolf," he said, eating a gummy worm.

" _What_?! We're gonna have sex _sometime_ ," Liam said calmly. Theo, on the other hand, started to choke on the gummy worm.

He settled down after a while, the gagging, hacking, and coughing beginning to stop. Of course, he was way too conspicuous to not be noticed by Liam, who looked a bit amused but mostly shocked and confused.

"Um, are you...okay?" Liam asked, now beginning to smile a little, patting Theo's back.

"Yes, I'm _fine_ ," Theo said, rolling his eyes and removing Liam's hand from his back, annoyed at his boyfriend's amusement. Liam looked at him in a "keep-going" kind of way. "It's just..." Theo trailed off, straightening his shirt.

" _Yeeeees_?" Liam asked, drawled out. That little shit.

"I'm a vir..." he whispered, trailed off again.

"You're a Virgo?"

"No, I'm a vi..." he mumbled, barely speaking.

"You're a victim?"

"NO. I'm a _virgin_ ," Theo said so that Liam could hear, flopping his head back onto the couch, covering his face with his hands.

Liam looked flabbergasted. He knew that it would be something Theo was embarrassed about, but he didn't know it would be _that_.

_HOW?!_ Liam's mind screamed.

"Jesus, don't scream!" Theo responded. 

Oops, had he said that out loud?

"But it makes no sense! How can _you_ , Mr. Muscles, be a virgin?" Liam asked incredulously.

"I don't know, okay?! What, did you think the Dread Doctors was just one big orgy?" Theo said.

"Well, virginity for some is kinda a spectrum. What kinda virgin are you? The never-had-vaginal-sex kind, the never-had-anal-sex kind, the never-had-oral-sex kind, the-"

"The never-been-kissed-until-you-came-along kind," Theo answered for him. Liam kinda just stared at him for a hot sec, until Theo pushed his face so that it would land on the pillow on the sofa. "Well, I kissed Tracy, but then I killed her, so I guess that doesn't count."

"Well, that's a statement," Liam said tastefully.

Liam made a mental note that Theo and Tracy kissed, which made his skin crawl.

_Seriously, how did I think I was straight?!_

"Soooo, you're a virgin?" Liam said, for some reason in an Italian accent.

Theo stared at him like he was an alien. "What's up with the Italian accent?"

"I don't know, I just do it when I'm nervous!" Liam said defensively.

" _Why_?" Theo asked.

" _I don't know_! It's just a- L-look, _you're_ the weird one; you're still a virgin!"

" _Wow_ , Liam, virgin shaming? I thought you were better than that," Theo said, mock-ashamed.

"Just answer my question!"

"Yes, I'm a virgin, dumbass."

Liam smiled wholesomely and made an exaggerated face of endearment. "Awwwww! That's so _cute_ -"

He couldn't finish the sentence though, for Theo promptly shoved a pillow in his face.


	40. Self-Assessed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam's parents confront Theo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope u like it! <333

"So...we _are_ boyfriends."

Theo groaned loudly. "Oh. My. God. YES." It was now 10:40 PM, and for all that time, all that was going through his ears was Liam's voice confirming that they were boyfriends. He asked during the movies, he asked during dinner, and he was asking now. If he heard Liam ask that question one more time, he was going to kill him. That was romantic, right?

"I'm just checking!" Liam said defensively.

"You've been 'checking'," Theo said, finger-quotes around the last word, "for the past _seven hours_."

Liam just scoffed and got in Theo's bed. He was getting comfy when Theo started nudging his forehead, which was not a pleasant sensation.

"Get up, you still need to brush your teeth and get in your pajamas," the older one said.

"But I don't wanna," Liam complained, yawning after.

"Well, I don't wanna sleep next to someone who smells like sweat, so go."

" _Ughhhhh_ , fine."

As Liam got ready, Theo got his phone out of his pocket, went to Reminders, and slowly wrote the word, "Sex", set for tomorrow at  
12 PM. After staring at the word for a couple seconds, he turned his phone off and put it on the bedside table next to Liam's, changed into his pajamas, and flopped into bed, having already brushed his teeth.

Liam joined him two minutes after, Theo spooning Liam as they both drifted into sleep.

At about 12:03 AM, Jenna and David slowly walked into their house.

"I want to check on the boys real quick," Jenna whispered.

She walked into Liam's room, only to find it empty. She knew that the two boys were probably in Theo's room; they seemed to be sleeping there a lot ever since Theo had had that nightmare. As she checked, she smiled at the scene of her two boys sleeping soundly next to each other.

_How cute!_ Jenna thought adoringly.

David walked up to see what Jenna was looking at. "They're good friends, aren't they?" he said. Jenna nodded in agreement, and they went off to their room to sleep.

Theo was still dozing off, his ear still picking up the sound from the two adults.

_Yeah_ , he thought, _"friends"._

It was now the next day, June 23rd; a Saturday. The Geyer family and Theo were sitting at the kitchen table, eating breakfast.

As they ate, Jenna began to speak. "Alright boys, we've got some stuff for you," she said. She reached in her work bag and pulled out a bottle of tablets. "Here's your refill prescription, Li." Liam took them from her hand and put next to him. They were the refill of his daily IED pills. Liam probably didn't need them- after all, he had a boyfriend who was also his anchor and school was out, which included some of his main triggers, such as rival lacrosse teams or an overload of work. However, IED was compulsive, so he opened it up and swallowed one of the white tablets, then ran up quickly to put the bottle in his bathroom cabinet.

Once he got down, he heard his mother rummaging through her work bag again. He sat down, curious as to what she would pull out.

"Now, for Theo..." she began, "I have this." She pulled out a very professional-looking paper. Theo took it from her hand questioningly. "It's a self-assessment test," she explained. He looked up at her.

"What for?" Liam asked.

Jenna's face blanched a little, David's eyes wandering to his eggs on his plate. "Well," she said awkwardly, "it's a depression self-assessment." Theo and Liam stared at her. "David and I are doctors, Theo, and we couldn't help but notice that you seem a bit more... isolated, and reserved when you're with others, or even just by yourself. And then you had that nightmare, which seemed way too similar to night terror to be a one time, normal thing. So, we did a little digging, and found out about how your sister got into that accident, and how your parents were reported once for neglect and abuse. PTSD is a common trigger for nightmares or night terror, and both PTSD and night terror often arise form or contribute to, well... clinical depression."

Jenna and David had soft looks on their face, while Theo just stared at the paper blankly. Liam looked between all the people.

David coughed. "Well, your mother and I have to get to work now, but take your time with that, Theo. See you both," he said, emptying his plate and collecting his things before heading outside.

"Bye, boys," Jenna said sweetly, kissing both their heads.

Once they heard the door shut, the two boys sat silently. "You wanna do it together?" Liam asked. Theo smiled and shook his head slowly.

"Nah, I'll do it myself."

Liam looked at him slightly concerned, but nevertheless smiled and said, "Okay." He got up from his seat to put his dish away, but not before he bent down and kissed Theo's head.

It was never a compulsion he had had with Hayden or anybody else. It was so...intimate. His IED and his constantly changing and disengaging of emotions made it too hard. But knowing Theo's torturous past and seeing his anchor in pain brought out a different side of him.

Theo smiled and leaned up to kiss Theo on the lips. Next thing he knew he was grabbing Liam by the hips, Liam's hands going up to his hair. Their lips moved in sync, becoming more and more aggressive. If Theo grazed his tongue against Liam's lips, no one was complaining.

Eventually, Theo pushed Liam away by the hips, both of their smiling lips swollen, Liam panting a little.

Theo rolled his eyes and smirked. "Go get ready, dumbass." 

Liam whined. "I don't wanna," he said, attempting to lean down and kiss Theo again.

Instead, his mouth was met with Theo's palm, and his ears with the sound of Theo's voice saying, "Jesus Christ, stop being horny and go upstairs."

Liam rolled his eyes, muttered a "Fine", stole one more chaste kiss from Theo's lips, and went up to get ready.

It was going to be a good day.


	41. Avoidance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Theo and Liam try to avoid their worst fears, but they can't for long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okie, this is the last chapter I've got-
> 
> hope u enjoy! <333
> 
> (also, listen to tyler the creator RIGHT TF NOW)

It was not going to be a good day. It was now 11:45 AM, and Liam was getting more and more anxious as 6:00 PM, the time he was going to see Hayden, loomed closer. Not to mention, Theo still hadn't touched his depression self-assessment. As he avoided the piece of paper, he suddenly remembered in fifteen minutes he was due for the library.

"Hey, Li?" he called out. "Liam!"

"Yes?" A muffled yell came through.

"Where are you?" Theo yelled back.

"I'm in the shower!"

"Oh, well I'm going to the library, I'll be back in an hour!"

"Why?!"

"Uh... just 'cause!"

_Smooth, Theo._

"Okay! Bye!" Liam said, and off Theo went, hopping into his truck.

Meanwhile, Liam was sitting on the shower floor, contemplating how he got into this. He, the co-captain of the lacrosse team and a beta werewolf, was cheating on his wholesome, supernatural girlfriend who had never done anything wrong, with his ex-nemesis, artificially made, depressed chimera now-boyfriend.

_Oh my god, why is this my life?_

He grabbed a bottle of dandruff-healing shampoo and doused his hair in it. As he followed the instructions and left it in for the recommended two minutes, he formulated plans on how to tell Hayden.

He knew the first logical step would be to break up with her. But what reason could he give? Obviously, he shouldn't tell her he was cheating on her. Liam wasn't _that_ stupid. He'd probably just paraphrase that usual mantra of, "Sorry, but we just don't have that spark anymore."

Then, once they were over, he would tell everybody that he and Theo were dating, and they would just assume that it happened after he and Hayden broke up. It wouldn't technically be lying, because he never said that he wasn't cheating on Hayden with Theo, it would just be assumed. Yeah.

Of course, there was the issue of telling the pack that he was dating Theo. He can already guess it. Scott would probably faint, Stiles would go ballistic, Lydia would banshee scream, Malia would attempt to rip Theo's guts out, Peter and Derek would just stand there, and Hayden would punch him.

On the bright side, he couldn't imagine that Mason and Corey would be upset.

_But what if they're homophobic?_

He lost his own brain cells trying to understand that thought.  
  


_Sexual intercourse: A Beginner's Guide to the Highs and Lows of Sex._

Theo stared at the book in his hands. It was 12:30 PM. Theo has gotten to the Beacon Hills Public library about 20 minutes ago, and walked straight to the Adult Education section. Damn near blushing, he fumbled through the books, until finding one that looked remotely useful.

He walked to an empty table in a far corner of the reading area, and placed the book down on the table. He _knew_ how to _have_ sex. He just...wanted to make sure it was enjoyable. His face was leaning on one hand that was in a loose fist, covering his mouth and the top of his nose, the other hand hesitantly flipping to the first page.   
  


Liam was looking for a good snack in the fridge. He eventually settled on a small, plastic package of chocolate pudding. He closed the fridge, and rummaged for a tiny spoon in the utensils drawer. As he grabbed the ideal spoon, and closed the drawer, he wondered what was taking Theo so long. He'd been a little secretive about the library thing, and it was now 12:45 PM, about one hour from when he left. Nevertheless, Liam shrugged, sat at a burgundy stool near their island, and delved into the pudding.  
  


Theo closed the book slowly, staring into space, dazed. There were words, and tutorials, and diagrams, some pictures even, and a sex self-assessment which he somehow felt less anxiety about than the still-untouched depression self-assessment. If that doesn't say something interesting about Theo, God knows what will.

In the sex self-assessment he was asked a variety of Yes or No questions, and some other questions, where he was given a spectrum of 1-10 on how much it related to him. 

1: Are you a virgin?   
Choose- Yes or No.

2: What is your sexuality?   
Write here — I don't know.

3: Do you have a significant other?   
Choose: Yes or No.

4: If answered Yes for previous question, what is their gender?   
Choose- Boy, Girl, or Other.

5: Are you in a monogamous relationship?  
Choose- Yes or No.

6: If so, are you in a heterosexual   
relationship?   
Choose: Yes or No.

7: If not, are you a top?   
Choose- Yes, No, or I don't know.

After answering a series of these questions and more, he came to the results, which he was now staring at. He was a top, who was pretty vanilla, but also up for anything their partner wanted. He learned that a variety of rough and gentle sex made for the ultimate sex life, and how a top made sex more enjoyable, and learned a few basic tricks that Amanda Williams, the trusty author of this cursed book, would mean Theo was good to go to have sex.Theo was very, _very_ close to blushing, and he would never in a million years let that happen, so he tore out the self-assessment paper he wrote on, out of the many awaiting, blank ones still inside the book, put it inside the pocket in his leather jacket, and put the book back on its shelf. Between all the reading and pausing to take a breather he had to do, it had taken him about two hours. It was now 2:00 PM. He walked outside of the library to the parking lot, and hopped into his truck, driving back to the Geyer's.  
  


Now Liam was getting worried. It was 2:05 PM, and still no sign of Theo. However, just as he was about to call him, he heard the front door unlatch.

Theo.

"There you are!" Liam exclaimed, relieved. He ran up to Theo, who was now closing the door, and hugged him. "What took you so long?" Liam asked, hands now on Theo's chest.

"I couldn't find the book I was looking for," the chimera lied. He was a good liar when he was prepared, courtesy of the Dread Doctors.

Liam rolled his eyes, gave him a light kiss, and dragged Theo up to his room. On the way there, he explained, "You need to help me prepare for Hayden." Once they arrived, Liam closed the door to his room, and opened up his closet. "What should I wear?" he asked, flipping through the shirts in front of him.

Theo, taking off his leather jacket, suggested, "Anything? She's been your girlfriend for practically a year, I think you've moved past the phase where you care what the other wears."

Liam turned around, looking confused. "But _we_ aren't in that phase."

"Must be a straight couple thing," Theo shrugged.

Liam snorted, then said, "Speaking of fashion, why in the name of God are you wearing a black leather jacket in summer?"

Theo looked down at the discarded jacket on Liam's bed. "Well, I'm not wearing it now, am I?"

Liam just rolled his eyes.

It was now 5:45 PM, and he'd spent all day with Theo. However, all good things must come to an end, and he was due at Hayden's House in 15 minutes. He still liked Hayden, after all, he was dating her, but he no longer liked her in a way that was romantic. Looking back, this change probably happened sooner, but he had only noticed it when Theo and him kissed.

He kissed Theo goodbye, hopped into his car, and drove off. Theo, meanwhile, was sitting in the kitchen, looking at the discarded depression self-assessment. Begrudgingly, he picked up a pencil.

About ten minutes later, Liam made it to Hayden's house. Slowly, he walked up the path and knocked on the door.

They couldn't avoid their worst fears any longer.


	42. Indication

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Theo gets his test results back, and they were less than stupendous.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi hi! hope u like this chapter, and i have another chapter to publish right after this! 
> 
> hope u enjoy!

Theo stared at the paper in his hands. He obviously was expecting what was on the paper. There was no shock in the results, whatsoever.

Still, it's not fun to see his score, 89/100, indicating severe clinical depression. He wouldn't even bother trying to fake the score to Liam's parents. It was blatantly obvious that Theo was a little... dejected sometimes. Knowing his past, they'd definitely know why this was, but Liam's parents didn't know anything about the boy before, and they still suspected it. It's not like he was constantly crying or being suicidal, but you could just see it in his eyes, or the way he sat, the way he detached himself from conversations, or when Jenna checked in on the boys, they'd both be sleeping, but Theo would look a little more distraught and restless than the other.

Just because he had an anchor, didn't mean that he was immune to all his trauma and issues. He still had hard nights, and the occasional flashback to Hell, but he was able to deal with it because of Liam. Sometimes Liam would smell the anxiety off of Theo when they were trying to sleep, and he would turn to face him, and would slowly, tiredly kiss him and rub his hair. Other times, Liam wouldn't even have to wake up, but the very smell of Liam would calm Theo down.

Still, he needed help from a professional, and he guessed that this test was the start to that. He sighed, then folded the piece of paper in two, and left it on the kitchen table, walking to the family room to watch some TV.

Meanwhile, Liam was giving Hayden the fakest smile he'd ever mustered. "So, what do you want for dinner?" he asked. It had been an hour since Liam arrived, Hayden more than thrilled to see him. They had kissed right on the doorstep, Liam internally cringing. Hayden remarked that he had smelled like Theo, to which he responded that he had worn Theo's shirt since he didn't have one of his own, and that was that. In reality, he had been furiously making out with Theo at around 3:40 PM, but what Hayden didn't know couldn't hurt her. Right? Now, they were searching online for a Chinese restaurant to order delivery from, Hayden staring and smiling at him occasionally; he did his best to avoid her gaze without being suspicious.

The food had arrived, it now being 7:20 PM. Liam was itching to get home to Theo. They ate their food, watching TV and talking, or attempting to talk in Liam's case, occasionally. Soon, the clock struck 8:30 PM, and Liam practically jumped up and ran to the front door, which he half-heartedly excused on homework. He opened her front door, but remembered what he should do and turned around quickly and said, "Oh, Hayden..." Hayden looked at him expectantly. Looking at her face, Liam suddenly paused, and shook his head. "Never mind, I'll ask Mason."

They kissed goodbye, and off he went. He face-palmed himself once he was in the car. Why did he chicken out? He needed to break up with her. He sighed, not wanting to think about it. Instead, he drove home, listening to Tyler the Creator's "I Think", which related to his life in that moment _a lot_. He just wanted to go home and hug Theo.

After what felt like an excruciating amount of time, he arrived at his house in fifteen minutes. He raced up to the door, unlocked it with the key from his pocket, and walked in.

"I'm home!"

Theo paused the TV, and walked up to the door, where Liam promptly tackled him into a hug.

"Jesus," Theo said, muffled by Liam's hair in his face. He was covering Theo's face in kisses, because why not? "How'd it go?" Theo managed to ask, after he pushed away the reluctant beta. 

"It went well," Liam said, holding onto Theo's hand as they walked into the family room. They sat down, Theo looking a bit surprised.

"She took the breakup well?" he asked suspiciously. Liam's face froze, his eyebrows raised a little higher than normal, indicating to Theo that he clearly didn't do it. He rolled his eyes. "Liam, you were the one complaining that you were cheating on her. You think you'd be eager to break up with her the first chance you get."

"I wasn't ready! I'll find the right time, promise. And don't lecture me! Did _you_ even do the self-assessment thing?"

"As a matter of fact, I did," he said, mock-contemptuously, not fully realizing that he just admitted something he wasn't exactly thrilled about. It only hit him when Liam looked at him shocked.

"You did it! What are the results?"

"Well..." Theo drawled out, making a pained face, which was enough for Liam to know it wasn't good. The beta winced slightly. "I got an 89 out of 100, which indicates severe clinical depression... and stuff."

Liam hugged him quietly. Neither of them were shocked by the results. It was just... sad.

"Well, I guess my mom and dad were right."

"When aren't they?" Theo scoffed. Liam turned to face him, and kissed him softly. It was so weird, being the more intimate one in the relationship. When he was with Hayden, (well, genuinely with Hayden) she was the more touchy-touchy ones. Not that he didn't go to her sometimes, but there was a clear difference in how intimate the two were. Now, with Theo, the chimera was SO out of touch with his emotions, Liam looked like the sappy one. Of course, Theo loved Liam's affections, and tried his best to push past his emotional barrier and be intimate with him.

Liam took it, and he put his head on Theo's shoulder, the other boy wrapping an arm around the beta's body.


	43. Mason, I Need Your Help

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam's going somewhere, and is keeping it a secret. It doesn't concern Theo for whatever reason.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another chapter teeheeeeee !
> 
> hope u enjoy! <33

"Well, I suppose I'll schedule a meeting with a doctor for Monday," Jenna said.

It was now 9:30 PM that day, and Liam's parents had come home, to see the two boys watching TV (in reality they were snuggling too, but promptly stopped when they heard the door unlatch), but also a folded self-assessment on their kitchen table. They had called the boys in the room, Theo and Liam's parents sitting at the table, Liam just standing there awkwardly while drinking some juice. They reviewed the answers together, the Geyer family sometimes looking a bit shocked at some of the answers he put in. After reading it carefully, they decided they needed to go to a professional, and have just agreed to go on Monday.

"Alright, you guys, David and I are pretty tired, so we'll head up to our room and relax. Don't make too much noise! Love you both," Jenna said, kissing their heads and then walking upstairs, David following her.

Once they were upstairs, Liam sat down with Theo. Theo looked at up at the stairs, analyzing Liam's parents' path up them.

Liam looked at him, confused, and asked, "What are you doing?"

Theo spoke bluntly. "Did you ever realize that your parents probably have sex when we leave the house?"

Liam's eyes widened. "What?! No!" He cringed and winced.

Theo, clearly amused, looked at him and said, "Well they _are_ , I can't imagine that they _never_ have sex. And between work and ya being home, they can only do it when we're gone."

Liam buried his hands in his face. "EWWW! Theo, stop!"

"I'm just saying! Do you think they have sex while we're _in_ the house?" Theo laughed.

Liam's eyes widened and his face cringed, and he tucked his face underneath his shirt. "STOP. STOP. STOP. EW."

Theo was laughing at this point, Liam chanting "Gross, gross, gross!" Theo eventually quieted him down, to respect Liam's parents' wishes.

Liam calmed down a bit, and ended up pouting and muttering, "I hate you."

Theo just smirked, and the two went to the family room.

"Anyway," Theo said once they sat down at the couch, "I realized we haven't had our first date yet." Liam looked at him expectantly. "I was thinking that tomorrow we could go to the movies or something," Theo suggested.

Liam smiled and nodded. "That sounds nice, what movie?"

"I dunno, I told you, I haven't seen many movies."

"Lemme see what's available."

After searching for movie tickets, they settled on buying tickets for Jaws, since neither of them had seen it, and Liam wanted to.

After buying them, Liam placed his head onto Theo's chest, hugging him in the process.

"Let's go to sleep," Theo suggested.

"Okay," Liam nodded, and the two boys went up to Theo's room, drifting into sleep.

It was the next day, Sunday, June 24th. At 9:40 AM, they were woken up by Liam's alarm clock.

Liam kissed Theo on the cheek, attempting to wake him up, but the other boy remained motionless. Liam rolled his eyes at the sleepy chimera, then resorted to shaking his boyfriend, saying, "Wake up, Theo."

"No," Theo said, grumbling and shifting around a little.

"Theo, you have to wake up," Liam said amusedly.

"No," Theo murmured, face muffled in the pillow, his nose crinkling a little. Liam started tossing him around more violently, until Theo exclaimed, "Ok, ok ok," sounding wobbly from Liam's shaking. Theo practically rolled out of bed, and went into the bathroom. Liam followed him in, laughing softly.

"Why are you so tired?" Liam asked.

"Oh jeez, I don't know. I'm just catching up on ten years of sleep, no biggie."

Liam gave him a fake, snide laugh. " _Hilarious_ , Theo."

Theo returned the smile back.

"Anyway, I'm going to Mason's house today," Liam said. "But you can't come," he added quickly.

Theo looked at him weirdly. "Why not?"

Liam hesitated, then said calmly, "Just 'cause." Theo swore he saw a small smile on his face.

"Ok..." Theo said doubtfully.

They got ready, and soon enough, it was 12:00 PM. Liam's parents were at work since 8:40 AM, so it was just the two boys. Liam needed to leave now if he was going to make it to Mason's house. He kissed Theo goodbye, went into his car, and drove off.

Theo looked at him suspiciously as he went, wondering what he was up to that required himself not to be there. He pushed the thought away from his mind; it's not like Liam was cheating on him with Mason or something. Instead, he found the sex self-assessment paper, and decided to look more into tips and tricks for... copulation.

_Why is this my life?_ Theo thought.

Liam made it to Mason's house within five minutes, and ran up to the door. Mason opened it, and let Liam in his house. There was no time to say hello, though, because Liam cut him off:

"Mason, I need your help."


	44. Never Fear, Mason is Queer!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam needs Mason's help. To be more specific, his GAY help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am so sorry this took so long, i promise to update more regularly, and dw, im not abandoning this book any time soon! on the bright side, yall will get a double update!
> 
> anyway, i hope you enjoy! <3333

_"Mason, I need your help."_

Liam looked at him urgently.

"What's wrong?" Mason asked worriedly.

"Well..." Liam trailed off. He didn't want to tell Mason that he was dating Theo. Not yet. "How exactly do you and Corey have sex?"

" _Excuse_ me?" a voice from the staircase exclaimed. Corey.

"Oh hi, Corey," Liam said awkwardly.

"What is all this about?" Corey asked suspiciously as he walked down the stairs. They all moved to the kitchen, Corey and Mason on one side, facing Liam who was sitting on the opposite.

"Um..." _Fuck, what do I say?_ "Someone said I was too straight to know how gay sex worked, so I wanna prove them wrong." _What are you doing, Dunbar?_

It seemed to somehow convince Mason and Corey, and they answered.

"Well, first thing's first, you NEED lube. A lot of it. _Always_ have lube," Mason said in his face. Liam nodded, kind of scared.

"Next, tops and bottoms," Corey said. "One person who-"

"YES, I KNOW WHAT TOPS AND BOTTOMS ARE!" Liam cut Corey off in a hurried exclaim.

Mason and Corey stared at the now blushing beta, but continued.

"Make sure to do things that you're comfortable with, and nothing you're not. Also, you can't fake orgasms when you have gay sex, so watch out for that," Mason said.

They went through a couple other things, before Liam said he had learned enough to "win his bet", and they went to Mason's room and played Call of Duty.

Liam got home at around 4:50 PM. Theo had been watching TV, doing summer homework, and studying up on how to have sex. They kissed when they got home, and did a bit of their homework together, Theo tutoring Liam. After about 30 minutes of Liam cursing out the entire study of biology, they went up to get ready for their movie. Theo just kept what he was wearing "like the gentleman he is", while Liam put on a different, more plain t-shirt.

They took their phones, Liam got some money, Theo got his car keys, and off they went, in Theo's truck.

They made it to the mall, and went to the food court.

"Alright, what do you want?" Theo asked.

"I thought I was paying?" Liam asked, confused.

"You are. But you might as well enjoy the food you're buying," Theo said, wearing a shit-eating grin.

"You're so weird," Liam remarked, rolling his eyes. "Let's get Chinese food."

"Okie doke," Theo said.

They ordered their food, Theo insisting that they get the taro bubble milk tea for "scientific reasons". Their movie started at 6:15 PM, so they had about fifty minutes before they had to head up to the theater. Liam took this as an opportunity to get to know a little bit about Theo.

"So....what's your favorite color?"

Theo gave him an unimpressed look.

"What?! I'm just asking!" Liam said. Despite the fact that they were dating, all Theo had to do was give Liam one look and he'd feel so confused and out-of-place with butterflies in his stomach, questioning everything he said and was about to say.

Theo snickered, and said, "Probably yellow."

" _Yellow_?" Liam repeated, unsure if he heard him right.

"Yes, yellow."

Liam stared at the chimera, who was chewing on a dumpling. He promptly stopped moving when he looked up and saw a wide-eyed beta staring at him in wonder.

"What?" Theo asked, muffled by the food in his mouth.

"I mean-it's just, yellow is such a happy color, and you're...not."

Theo had swallowed his food by then, and gave him a "really?" look, which sent Liam spiraling down again.

"Am I wrong?!" Liam exclaimed.

Then, Theo laughed. Not a mocking laugh or anything, just a genuine one; the one that makes Liam's heart feel like it's gonna fly out of his chest from beating so hard. "You're so awkward," he remarked after calming down his chuckles.

"Meanie," Liam pouted.

"I meant it as a positive. It's... endearing," Theo said.

"I think you mean cute," Liam said.

"It's juvenile, but yeah, I mean cute."

Theo just called him cute. Theo Raeken, the guy who tried to kill Scott and the pack for his own benefit, thinks he's cute. Theo. Raeken.

_MCNMSNDJSNFBNDNNDND-_

His brain just spasmed.

All he managed to do was giggle, and say his thanks.

He was about to ask Theo another question, when suddenly his face was met with the flinging of a handful of noodles. He shook a little from the impact, before clearing some of it from his eyes, only to see Theo sitting there, trying to contain a smile, with a few strands of noodles on his hand. He was clearly the culprit.

"What was that?!" Liam asked loudly, starting to smile a little.

"What was _what_?" Theo asked innocuously.

"You just threw noodles on my face!" Liam said, laughing.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Theo said seriously, but not before Liam saw his lip twitch up in a smile.

Liam grabbed the hand covered in noodles as his evidence. "Then why are there noodles on your hand?!"

"Oh... that," Theo said, now fully smiling.

"Ya... _that_ ," Liam said, looking at Theo.

"I just felt like it," Theo reasoned.

Liam was looking at him incredulously, before beginning to laugh genuinely. "Wow, Theo."

Before he could say anything, Theo threw yet another batch of noodles in Liam's face. And another. And another. Liam was spluttering and laughing through the whole thing, and by the end of it, Theo was laughing too.

"Here, lemme help you," Theo said, in regards to helping Liam clean himself up.

They were scooping noodles off of the boy, not noticing the weird and amused stares of those around them. In fact, only once Liam had been cleaned off as best as he could, did they notice someone.

As they finished packing up all the noodles into a box to put in the trash, along with the other empty packages of food, they heard two voices. Not just any voices. Lydia and Malia's.

"Come on, Malia, it'll be fun!" Lydia said.

"Clothes shopping is _not_ fun," Malia groaned.

Theo and Liam picked it up with their supernatural hearing, and turned to see the entrance of the mall. And there, they saw Lydia dragging Malia along.

They couldn't see Theo and Liam like this, all intimate and laughing! They had to hide somewhere, and fast. Theo grabbed Liam's hand, pulled him out of his seat, threw the trash away, and started fast-walking in the direction of a store that was out of sight from Malia and Lydia.

Once inside, Liam looked at Theo. Theo smiled, and kissed him quickly. Liam looked around at their surroundings. It looked like they had walked into a clothes shop full of people. He panicked, wondering if this was the store Malia and Lydia were going to go into. But then, he peaked through the window of the store, and saw them going in a completely different direction, and eventually, out of sight. He sighed in relief.

"That was close," Liam said. Theo nodded. "What time is it?" Liam asked.

Theo checked his watch, which said 6:07 PM.

"Time to go," Theo announced, and they made their way to the escalator and into the movie theater to go see Jaws.


	45. Making Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Liam's horny, nothing stands in his way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> second chapter!!
> 
> hope you enjoy! <3

The movie had just ended, Theo completely unfazed by the gory movie, eating popcorn as the credits played. Liam, on the other hand, was shaking like a leaf, gripping Theo tightly.

"Are you ok?" Theo asked.

"Y-yeah, it wasn't even that scary," Liam scoffed, although his death-hold on Theo's hand was telling a different story.

"Right," Theo drawled out. "Anyway, the movie's over, so let's go. And be careful that we don't bump into Malia and Lydia."

Liam nodded, and they walked out of the movie theater. After scanning the premises, they snuck out of the mall, and made it to Theo's truck. Or rather, the back of the truck. To be more precise, Liam pulled Theo into the back of the truck.

"What're you doing?" Theo asked him, as Liam closed the car door.

"Nothing," Liam murmured, analyzing the car door window. "Do you have tinted windows?"

"Yeah, wh-" Theo was cut off by Liam's lips crashing into his, the beta straddling his legs.

Theo's eyes gazed in shock at the lap full of Liam, before peeling the beta off of his lips.

" _What_ are you doing?" Theo asked again, more confused and shocked than he was ten seconds before.

"I'm making out with you, duh," Liam said.

"...Why?" Theo asked.

Liam looked at him like he was the dumbest person in the world, which is saying something. Theo's hands were on either side of his own body. Liam took them and wrapped them around his waist.

"Because I can," Liam responded carelessly, and connected his lips back to Theo's again. Theo didn't question it this time. Although he didn't get what had suddenly compelled Liam to get on his lap and kiss him, he certainly wasn't complaining.

"You know that Malia and Lydia could see this is my car, and come here only to see us making out, right?" Theo said against Liam's lips.

"Why do you care?" Liam said, muffled.

"I don't."

"Well then, why'd you ask?"

"I thought _you_ cared. You're the one who doesn't wanna break up with your girlfriend or tell anyone about us, not me. I'm just playing along."

Liam rolled his eyes. He appreciated how the chimera didn't care about what anyone thought, and that he didn't mind keeping it a secret or telling people. "Well, just because I wanna keep it a secret doesn't mean I don't want to make out with you."

"Touché."

Liam smiled, but before he could reattach his lips onto Theo's, the other boy beat him to it. Theo's hands gripped his waist, and his lips moved in sync.

Liam moaned quietly as Theo's lips guided him. The kisses turned more passionate, with Liam opening his mouth a little. Theo took the opportunity and slipped his tongue into Liam's mouth. Liam surrendered the battle for dominance the moment Theo's tongue touched the roof of his mouth, knowing he would lose.

Theo kissed him roughly, eliciting soft moans from the beta. Theo could sense the beta becoming more hot and bothered, so he decided to put an end to it. He pulled away from a very reluctant Liam, and smiled as he looked at his handiwork. Liam's mouth was swollen and red, slightly into a pout from Theo withdrawal, his cheeks were bright pink, and his hair was tousled.

"Come back," Liam whined, attempting to get closer to Theo, but the older one just pushed him away by the nose.

"No can do. We have to get home," Theo said, smirking.

"But I don't wanna!" Liam exclaimed like the two-year-old he is mentally. "And judging by how you were kissing me, I don't think you want to either."

"Maybe, but I've got enough self-control to stop myself."

"I hate you."

"That's not what your tongue was saying a couple second ago."

"This is why I hate you."

Theo rolled his eyes, then pulled Liam into the passenger's seat of the car, while he got into the driver's seat. They drove off to Liam's house, making it there at around 9:50 PM. David Geyer and Jenna were there, talking about work, when they heard the front door open. 

"Oh, there you boys are!" Jenna exclaimed. "You said you'd be back at 9:30, did something happen?"

Liam's face turned a little pink, while Theo just smiled and looked at Liam expectantly. 

"We just hung out a little while after, just to talk and stuff," Liam said, coughing in a nervous habit afterwards. 

"Oh, good. Well, Theo, we scheduled your meeting with a doctor at 11:00 AM tomorrow, so get some sleep, ok?" Jenna said. 

Theo nodded. Jenna kissed both boys goodnight, David wishing them a good sleep, and they got ready and jumped into Theo's bed. For nightmare-related reasons only, of course, as far as Jenna and David were concerned.

At around 10:00 PM, they were both in bed, Theo wrapping an arm around Liam. They both drifted into peaceful sleep. 


	46. Luigi’s

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Theo gets his official results back from the doctor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> new chapter!! 
> 
> i hope u guys enjoy! 
> 
> also i might have a new book coming soon teehee

"So, I checked the results, and unfortunately, Theo, it looks like you have severe clinical depression, and high anxiety."

Liam's mom and Theo had gone to the doctor's office on Monday, June 25th, like they scheduled, and had just gotten the results back. They were less than stellar.

Jenna combed a hand through her hair in distress as the doctor continued to speak.

"Well, I'm going to _strongly_ recommend that Theodore to go to therapy at _least_ once a week. I'll refer you to one. And we should start him on anti-depressants. I'll send those to your pharmacy, and they should be there no later than Wednesday."

They wrapped things up, and the two got into Jenna's car after checking out of the building. Mrs. Geyer took a good look at Theo. Theo's face completely barren of emotion, something he usually did as a defense mechanism, or when he was really upset.

"Are you ok, sweetie?" she asked him.

"I'm fine," he mumbled. Jenna ruffled his hair a little.

"We can talk about it later," she said, understanding that the boy probably didn't want to talk at the moment.

"Ok," he said, grateful tones in his voice.

They got home, and walked into the house. David was sitting at the table, reading a newspaper, while Liam could be heard upstairs, walking around, getting ready.

It was 12:10 PM, and yet Liam had woken up only now. Theo rolled his eyes, thinking about his lazy boyfriend.

"Alright Theo, why don't you go upstairs and talk with Liam for a bit?" Jenna suggested, while getting a pot out of a cabinet, intending to make lunch.

Theo wasn't stupid. He knew that Jenna rightfully wanted to talk to David about the gloomy verdict that the doctor had made. He needed to talk to Liam about it too, so he nodded and headed upstairs.

Liam was in his room, looking tired, getting dressed. He had a T-shirt and his boxers on, but that was about it. As soon as Theo stepped in the door, the grumpy expression on Liam's face left, making way for a smiling one. He ran up and hugged Theo, who was closing the door. Theo smiled and hugged the boy back.

"Hi," Theo said.

"Hello," Liam singsonged.

Theo's arms were pulled onto Liam's waist by the beta's hands, and his lips were met with a kiss.

"Liam, get dressed," Theo mumbled against Liam's lips.

"Why?" Liam whined.

"Because you get horny very easily."

Well, Liam couldn't argue with that. He rolled his eyes, saying something about Theo being a meanie, and put on some long shorts.

"Anyway, how'd it go with the doctor?" Liam asked.

"Well, there's good news, and there's bad news," Theo said.

"What's the bad news?" Liam asked apprehensively.

"Well, I've been diagnosed with severe clinical depression and high anxiety."

"And what's the good news?" Liam asked, concerned.

"I dunno, I was hoping I'd come up with something by now."

Liam rolled his eyes, but went up to his bed where Theo was now sitting, and ruffled and kissed his hair.

"It's ok," Liam whispered, while Theo pouted into the beta's shirt. "What did the doctor say to do?"

"He said I need to go to therapy once a week, and take anti-depressants," Theo explained. Liam hummed in understanding.

"Do you wanna talk?" Liam asked, to which Theo furiously shook his head.

"I wanna eat. Speaking of, you wanna go to a restaurant tonight?"

"Oooh, that sounds fun. Where?"

Theo shrugged. "You're paying; you choose."

Liam rolled his eyes. "You're gonna have to get a job sometime, Theo."

"I know, I know," Theo murmured into Liam's shirt.

"That being said, let's get pasta. I'll make reservations for Luigi's Italian," Liam declared.

"Okay," Theo said. His head was pushed up, out of Liam's shirt, now facing up at Liam's face. Liam bend down and kissed him, which Theo shamelessly accepted.

"Liam!" Jenna's voice called from downstairs. The two broke apart, Liam much more reluctant. "Come downstairs!"

"I'd much rather _come_ up here," Liam quipped to Theo, earning a look of distaste from the other boy.

"Go, shoo," Theo said, and down Liam went.

"Alright boys, I'm sure we all know about what the doctor has said about Theo," Jenna said to David and Liam. They nodded. "So, we need to do everything we can to make Theo feel at home. That poor thing, he looks so out of place, even from the moment he entered this house. I wonder what happened to him."

Liam winced. He knew what happened to Theo, thanks to the Metamentalgos, and he knows that the pack sending him to Hell probably didn't help the case. He felt horrible.

"Liam, you're close to Theo. What does he want us to do for him?" David asked.

"He doesn't wanna talk about right now. He'll start talking when he's ready. So I guess we just leave it alone and don't talk about it in front of him."

"Alright. I'll schedule a meeting with the therapist the doctor recommended. In the meantime, Liam, can you find something to take Theo's mind off of all this?" Jenna asked.

"He and I are going to a restaurant today, so I hope that'll help," Liam remarked.

"Ooh, what restaurant?" Jenna asked, curious.

"Luigi's."

"Oh, I love Luigi's! That's where David took me on our anniversary. Do you need money?"

Liam nodded, and Jenna handed him forty dollars. He said his thanks, and put it in his pocket. Jenna remarked something about the time, and soon enough, she and David were out the door, heading to work, saying goodbye to Liam, and yelling a goodbye to Theo.

As soon as they left, Liam grabbed an apple, and headed upstairs.

There he found Theo on his bed, reading a book they had to read for school. _War and Peace_ , by Leo Tolstoy. Weird. That somehow summarized his life. One minute he was at peace with the pack, and at war with Theo, and the next he's at peace with Theo, and war with the pack. He didn't want to think about that now, though.

Instead, he asked Theo, "Do you want Corey, Mase, and Nolan to come over?"

"Yeah, definitely," Theo responded, peeking his head out of the book to answer. Liam texted his friends, who were now due to be at the Geyer house at 1:00 PM, about 30 minutes from now. In the meantime, Liam took out his own copy of _War and Peace_ , and the two read and annotated together.

They heard a knock on the door at about 12:55 PM, and Liam went downstairs and opened the door, happy to see his two best friends. The five of them hung out and studied for about five hours, during which Liam secretly made reservations for Luigi's.

At around 6:10 PM, they all left.

Liam let them out of the house, then walked upstairs to see Theo, who was putting on his leather jacket, ready to leave.

"Seriously, it's like 68 degrees, why are you wearing that?" Liam asked incredulously.

Theo just shrugged. Hell was cold and unforgiving, so he liked feeling warm. It made him feel human. And yeah, maybe it was steaming in his jacket, and he was sweating a little, but anything was better than being cold. Being in Hell. Being inhuman.

Liam didn't change his outfit, only went to the bathroom. They went downstairs, got their shoes on, and got into Theo's truck.

They made it to Luigi's at 6:30 PM, just like Liam reserved, and were brought to their table by a very sweet waiter, with a thick Italian accent. They were brought bread and water, and menus to order from.

"How do you pronounce this?" Liam asked, pointing to the thing he wanted.

"Liam, it's just pasta bolognese, it's easy to pronounce," Theo said.

Liam pouted. "It's not my fault you're smart and I'm dumb."

"Well, I can't disagree with that. Oh, the waiter's coming, let's order."

The waiter came over, and Liam, after a couple of tries, managed to pronounce "bolognese". Theo ordered his food with an unnatural amount of ease in Liam's mind, and off the waiter went.

It took about thirty minutes for the food to arrive.

"That looks good," Liam remarked, looking at the food being placed in front of him. Theo nodded in agreement.

As they ate, they talked about casual things, with no awkward tension at all. For someone who spent five months in Hell, and who had an incredibly traumatizing and introverted childhood, Theo sure knew how to make conversation. Soon enough, they had finished dinner and dessert, Liam had paid for food, and they were heading back in Theo's truck to Liam's house.

Liam opened the door and walked in, Theo following suit. Liam called out, but not hearing a response, the boys assumed that Liam's parents were still at work. This was confirmed by Liam's phone getting a text from his mom.

**mom: hey li, david and i won't be home until tomorrow afternoon. have a healthy breakfast tmrw or else >:) love u both!**

Liam rolled his eyes and smiled at the text. "Mom and Dad won't be home until tomorrow afternoon," he told Liam.

Theo hummed in understanding, and he and Liam went up to Theo's room.

Theo walked into his room, looking at his phone, when he heard a clinking sound. He turned around to see Liam locking the bedroom door.

"What're you doi-" Theo attempted to ask, when he was suddenly cut off by Liam's lips crushing into his.


	47. First, but not the Last

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Liam's first time, but most certainly not the last.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS TOOK SO LONG IM SO SORRY FKJFKLSJDFLSD it was just very hard to start writing, cuz its my first time writing smut like this lmao
> 
> sry about the delay, but i hope you enjoy!

Liam's lips moved softly on Theo's, but still carried a bit of force and passion.

"Liam, what are you doing?" Theo asked, muffled.

Liam pulled away from the taller boy, rolling his eyes. "I'm kissing you, duh."

"So, what's up with the locked door?" Theo asked skeptically, moving his head to peer over Liam, nodding to the door behind him.

Liam smiled mischievously. "Nothing," he said, before continuing to kiss Theo. Theo was much more receptive this time, but was still wary of Liam's actions.

They continued to kiss, Theo walking backwards until he felt the bed pressing against the back of his legs. He sat down on the edge of the bed, holding Liam's hips. Liam sat on his lap, his legs straddling each side of Theo. Their kisses turned more aggressive, Liam's hands pulling lightly at Theo's hair. Liam pulled back just a little to catch his breath, and at that moment Theo decided to slide his tongue into Liam's mouth. Liam moaned softly, letting Theo's tongue dominate, as his had no chance. He melted as Theo's tongue moved along the roof of his mouth.

Theo then pulled his tongue out of Liam's hot mouth. He gave Liam a kiss, and started moving down his body. Liam sighed in pleasure as Theo kissed his jaw, eyes fluttering. Theo's lips trailed down until they reached his neck, leaving light kisses. He became more and more passionate, until he was sucking on the soft flesh of Liam's neck, leaving hickey after hickey. Liam's head was buried in the crook between Theo's head and shoulders, trying to stifle his moans. But when Theo started kissing on Liam's Adam's Apple, he could barely keep it together, and mewled a little louder than he wanted. Of course, Theo didn't mind at all. _At all._

_At. All._ He smirked, and continued to kiss up on the beta's beautiful neck. His lips moved downwards until he made it into the hollow of Liam's collarbone. He sucked on the skin _ever-so-lightly_ , and suddenly Liam moaned loudly. Not even Theo's shirt could muffle it.

Theo looked at the face buried in his shirt with an impressed expression, before muttering, "Sensitive," and continuing sucking on that spot. Liam moaned and gasped as Theo kept sucking on his collarbone, starting to lightly rub his hips helplessly against Theo's. Theo could feel Liam's clothed, practically hard dick rubbing against his enclosed-in-denim, semi-hard one.

"Liam, we should stop," Theo said, pulling away from Liam. Liam whined shamelessly from the loss of contact.

"Noooo," the beta pleaded. He got off of Theo's lap, and moved from the edge of the bed to lying down in the middle of it. He pulled the neck of Theo's shirt until the older boy's face was above him. Theo adjusted his position so that he was on top of Liam in the middle of his bed. He pressed his lips onto Liam's, and wrapped his arms around the boy.

Theo felt a tugging on his shirt from Liam, signaling that he wanted it off. Theo gladly obliged, sitting up a little, breaking their kiss, took off his jacket, and slowly pulled his shirt up. Liam's eyes widened a little while Theo's toned torso and abs were revealed. Once the shirt was off, Theo threw it onto the floor. Liam's eyes were glued to Theo's pecs and biceps. _Jesus, this guy was jacked._ Theo smiled, looking at the impressed beta. He even felt himself blushing, which is _not_ something the chimera usually did. He leaned back down and kissed Liam's neck passionately. Liam moaned and sighed, giggling lightly. His hands explored Theo's naked pecs and abs.

Theo was casually sucking on Liam's neck, feeling Liam's hands on his hot skin, when suddenly, he felt Liam's hands on his belt. _Unbuckling it._

"Uhhh, Liam?"

"Mhm?"

"What are you doing?"

Liam rolled his eyes, amused. "I'm unbuckling your pants."

"Don't you think we're moving a _little_ fast?" Theo asked, hesitant.

"Theo, I'm ready! You don't need to be concerned, I even got lube and condoms," Liam said, leaning over to his dresser, and pulled out a condom. "I hope I got the right size," Liam said mischievously.

Theo took the condom from Liam's hand with nimble fingers, and eyed the label. _XL._ He got the right size.

Theo felt his pants tightening, and his skin getting hot.

"Liam..." Theo warned.

"I want you to fuck me, Theo," Liam said, straight into the other boy's face. Theo choked. Jesus Christ, this kid was gonna be the end of Theo. Liam pulled him in for a searing kiss. The beta's lips moved from Theo's lips to his left earlobe, and started suckling on it.

"You know, Theo," Liam whispered into the chimera's ear, "I would've let you fuck me in your car if I had the prep. The back of your truck is a pretty nice place to lose your virginity."

Theo was about to die. God, he was about to die. He only managed to mutter an, " _Okay_ , if you're ready."

Liam smiled triumphantly, and continued unbuckling Theo's jeans. He finally undid it, and Theo sat up to pull them off, and flung them on the ground, near his discarded shirt.

Liam looked at the older boy on top of him. He noticed something: Theo had no trace of hair on his body. It must've been from all the experiments that the Dread Doctors had performed on him. He looked at Theo's abs, and seeing that he had no hair on his happy trail, there must not have been any on his dick either. Liam had the same situation, although his wasn't caused by genetic mutation; he just shaved earlier that day.

He snapped out of his thoughts as Theo kissed him, and he let his hands roam Theo's torso. The beta felt two hands on his shirt, and it was suddenly pulled of his head smoothly. Then those hands moved downwards, stopping on the button of Liam's jeans. Theo undid the button, and unzipped his fly.

Liam lifted his legs as Theo slipped his jeans off of Liam's smooth legs. As Theo was sitting there, legs on either side of Liam, Liam got a good look at Theo's boxers. There was a tent in them. A noticeable one. Just from looking at that, Liam could tell that Theo's dick was big. He pulled the older boy in for a searing kiss.

Liam's hands guided Theo's until it reached the hem of Liam's boxers. Liam gave Theo a look that said "take them off," and Theo gladly obliged. He pulled off Liam's boxers, his hands going torturously slow. Liam whined, and Theo smirked into the kiss. Finally, he had gotten them off of him, tossing them near the other discarded clothes on the floor. Theo then looked in between Liam's now naked legs, which were pressed together.

He smiled in arousal, while Liam blushed under Theo's watchful gaze. Theo, who was biting his lip, slowly climbed onto Liam, and kissed him. Liam kissed back. While the beta was distracted, Theo took this as an opportunity to reach his hands down, and spread Liam's legs open. Liam whined, reluctant to do so, feeling shy. Nevertheless, he complied, and moved his legs in the direction Theo's hands were pulling them. There, Theo saw Liam's rock-hard dick, leaking a bit of precum at the top. He smiled, then starting kissing Liam's neck.

"You're pretty," Theo murmured in the hollow of Liam's collarbone.

The beta blushed furiously, and responded, "You're not so bad yourself."

Theo chuckled, then kissed down Liam's body. Liam inhaled sharply as Theo's lips kissed his torso. Liam's hands fiddled with Theo's hair as his lips got lower. Each of Theo's hands grabbed onto one of Liam's thighs, and spread them a slight bit. His lips lifted from Liam's torso, but skipped the part Liam's body needed him to be on most. He whimpered in neglect, but interrupted himself with a small gasp when Theo's lips kissed his inner thighs. His lips moved up from mid thigh, moving higher up, but never quite reaching the place Liam wanted him to. He did the same to the other leg, nipping and biting the soft flesh, earning whimpers from the beta. Soon, he got dangerously close to Liam's dick. Liam was getting excited in anticipation, when suddenly Theo lifted his body off of Liam entirely, leaving the beta to frown and whimper in neglect and confusion.

Theo rolled his eyes, and quipped, "Patience, dumbass," then reached over to the dresser. Liam crinkled his nose in distaste at the nickname. Theo pulled back from the dresser, lube in hand. He opened the cap of it, and squeezed some of the cold liquid onto his hands.

Knowing it was Liam's first time being a bottom, he knew it would probably be unpleasant at first. So, as a distraction, Theo leaned down and kissed Liam's neck. Wherever his lips touched, Liam's skin burned.

Theo's hand reached down Liam's body, and once located, he slid in a finger into Liam's tight hole.

Liam groaned in annoyance. It was a dull pain, and he squeezed Theo's body tighter. Theo's kisses were distracting, and had him loosening up. Soon, Liam was moaning as Theo's finger moved in and out of him. Theo's lips disconnected from Liam's neck, feeling as though Liam didn't need a distraction anymore, and moved back on the bed, so Liam's open legs were in front of him. As Liam's eyes closed in a state of pure bliss, Theo took it as a chance to add a second finger.

Liam moaned, hands gripping the sheets, head pressing back against the pillow underneath him. Theo's hand scissored inside of Liam, opening him up.

"More," Liam mumbled out.

Theo gladly complied, adding a third finger. Pumping them in and out of Liam at a steady, fast pace. After a couple of minutes, Liam could barely remember his own fucking name. His eyes were glossy and blurred with pleasure, the corners of his ducts were damp with tears, and was obsessively biting his lip, turning it redder than it already was.

"I'm ready," Liam managed to get out, sounding slurred. It was adorable. Theo smiled and slowly took his fingers out of Liam's wet, tight hole. He fingered with the waistband of his boxers, which now had a prominent bulge in them. He fiddled and finally managed to pull them down, taking them off of his legs, and tossing them with the rest of the clothes.

He turned back to Liam, only to see the beta, propped up on his elbows, staring at his dick, shocked, confused and impressed at the same time.

Theo snapped his fingers in front of Liam's eyes. "Eyes up here, Liam."

"How is your dick _that_ big?" Liam exclaimed. Rightfully so, because Theo's dick was big. It had to be bigger than Liam's, which was like 9-10 inches, so _Jesus Christ_.

"Genetics, duh," Theo joked, feeling both flattered and amused.

Liam rolled his eyes, then looked at Theo expectantly.

"What?" Theo asked, looking at Liam with the same expectant expression.

"Um, _start_ ," Liam said, as if it was obvious, which it was, but Theo had his moments of cluelessness, especially when they were about human etiquette.

Theo made a noise of distaste at the tone of the boy's voice, but nevertheless grabbed the condom, and slipped it onto his member. He then got the lube, squeezed some out, and applied it to his covered dick.

He lined himself up to Liam's hole, which was fluttering a little. Liam's eyes were staring at the ceiling in anticipation, his fingers drumming on his stomach.

"Ready?" Theo mumbled, cracking his neck and running a hand through his hair.

Liam rolled his eyes, muttering something about being ready for an entire week, then wrapped his legs around Theo's hips, indicating that, yes, he was, in fact, ready.

Theo nodded stiffly in understanding, then slowly pushed into Liam. Liam's nose crinkled, he winced and groaned closed-mouthedly.

"Are you ok?" Theo asked, laughing slightly, and giving Liam a pity smile.

"Yeah," Liam said grumpily, face still filled with tension and pain.

Theo moved down and kissed Liam's scrunched nose, making the younger boy smile a little. Theo kissed him on the lips passionately, in attempts to calm him down, and to loosen him up. It worked, and soon Liam was slapping his bicep, whispering, "You can move."

"Thank god," Theo whispered. Liam snorted softly. Theo pushed his body up, so he was hovering over Liam in almost a push-up position, and pulled his hips back and softly pushed them forward. Liam inhaled sharply, and wrapped his hands around Theo's arms. Theo went in a slow, soft rhythm. Liam's body slowly got used to the intrusion, and soon enough he was moaning and pressing into Theo's thrusts.

"Go faster," he said, stuttering a little.

"If you say so," Theo said, and did as Liam asked. He started off slightly faster, which was fine with Liam for now. He pushed his head back against the pillow as Theo's thrusts slipped in and out of him. But Liam was insatiable.

"Theo," he drawled out, "go _harder_. Please."

"Liam, don't you think we're moving too-"

" _For me?_ "

Theo's head snapped up to meet Liam's eyes, whose were full of mischief and lust. Theo's lips attacked his suddenly, and his mouth was being bruised by powerful bites and movements. Then Theo started to fuck him.

His thrusts were relentless, and they were hard. Liam could feel his walls wrapping around Theo's length in pleasure, and he moaned loudly into the kiss. As Theo pounded into him, his lips moved from Liam's mouth to his neck, continuing to suck hickeys.

Liam's legs wrapped around Theo's hips desperately, and his right arm reached behind him and gripped the headboard, while the left hand was practically tearing apart the sheets. He moaned and whimpered, getting louder with each thrust. He was drunk on pleasure, feeling Theo's dick fill up his tight, pink, needy hole.

Theo's lips teased his neck with ghostlike kisses, making his skin tingle. He pulled Liam's right leg higher up, getting more space to ram into Liam. The slightly new angle changed the direction of his thrusts and allowed him to go faster, and made Liam feel dizzy from the change of pace.

He felt so spread out and exposed under Theo; it made him feel so vulnerable, in the best way possible. Theo fucking him was heaven; Liam didn't think it could get any better. That was until Theo, from the new angle, hammered into his prostate.

Liam's eyes rolled back in his head, and he moaned loudly, profanities spilling from his mouth.

Theo smirked, knowing he had found Liam's sweet spot, and continued thrusting in that direction.

" _Fuck, Theo..._ " was all that Liam could say. His dick was throbbing and dripping precum, and he was _so close_. He couldn't really tell if Theo was too, because the boy's thrusting never changed pattern, either meaning he wasn't close, or that he was in incredible control of his body and mind. Liam, knowing Theo's brainwashed, efficient past, betted and _hoped_ , it was the latter.

Theo, in fact, was close, with the way Liam's wall was wrapping around his dick, milking it. He could see his own cock get swollen, pumping in and out of Liam. Of course, his efficient bringing-up by the Dread Doctors gave him the ability to maintain his thrusts at a consistent, breakneck pace, but if the red flush on his face and his heavy breathing meant anything, it was that he was going to cum soon.

Liam gripped Theo's back tighter and tighter with each thrust, sounding more desperate with each whimper, moan and mewl. His blunt fingertips scratched and nipped at the bare skin. He bounced against Theo's dick, grinding slowly.

Liam could feel the burning sparks and knots in his stomach forming. With each thrust on his prostate and the kisses on his neck, it was too much for Liam to handle.

With two hard, slow thrusts from Theo, Liam moaned loudly, gripped both the headboard and sheets with a supernatural strength, eyes rolling back in his head, and came hard. His body spasmed as his cum shot from his dick, ropes of it covering his and Theo's stomach.

His breath came out in raggedy, disconnected patterns as he came down from his orgasm. Theo continued to thrust into his hole, searching for his own release, still maintaining a consistent rhythm. However, noticing Liam's wincing expression, and the word, "Oversensitive," coming from the beta, Theo slowed down his thrusts, giving Liam a look, asking him if he wanted him to stop.

"Just because I'm oversensitive doesn't mean I want you to stop," Liam said suggestively.

" _Really, Liam, really?_ " Theo whispered slowly in exasperation, locking and unlocking his jaw. Nevertheless, Liam could smell the arousal coming from the older boy, and Theo continued.

His thrusts returned back to their normal speed, by Liam's wishes. Liam moved his hips slowly, helping Theo get to the edge. And soon enough, it worked. Theo was hunching over Liam, breathing irregularly, groaning slightly, and cumming inside the condom, still within Liam.

Liam sighed in pleasure as Theo's dick filled him up, even if there was a condom. It's not like they needed it, because werewolves and chimeras couldn't get STDs, but it was his first time, so it was a safety precaution.

Once Theo rode out his orgasm, he removed his head from where it was hiding on Liam's shoulder, and made eye contact with the beta. Liam pulled him in for a kiss, both of them smiling and breathing heavily.

Liam was right: Theo was good at _everything_.


	48. "Fighting"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam and Theo have their first fight. Will they need couple's therapy?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DOUBLE UPDATE PEOPLE YIPPEEEEEEE
> 
> hope u enjoy this and the next chapter!

"GAH! That's cold!" Liam exclaimed.

Theo chuckled as he pressed the damp washcloth he got from Liam's bathroom against Liam's skin. He did the same to himself and set the cloth aside.

He picked up their boxers from the floor, put his on, and helped Liam put on his, as a temporary measure until they could get actual clothes. Once he pulled them up onto Liam's legs, he took a good look at the boy underneath him. Liam was sweating, hair completely messed up, strands, stuck to his forehead. His legs were still trembling a little, his body was covered in water and splotches of cum, and his lip was puffy and red from the biting. He had hickeys all over his neck and a light blush on his nose and the center of his face. He looked extremely cute, Theo decided.

"Are you going to keep staring at me, or are we gonna kiss?" Liam asked eventually, earning an eye roll from Theo.

"Always the romantic, Liam."

Nevertheless, he leaned down and kissed Liam. It was chaste, however, much to Liam's distaste, and Theo crawled off of Liam entirely.

"Let's get dressed," Theo said. Liam grumbled, but agreed nonetheless. Theo quickly went to his room, changed into his pajamas, and walked back into Liam's room, where Liam was in his nightclothes.

Too lazy to move rooms, they decided to stay in Liam's room and sleep there. 

It was the next day, Tuesday, June 26, at around 8:00 AM.

Theo woke up first this time, and _ever-so-carefully_ woke Liam up.

"Liam! Wake up!" Theo said, shaking the younger boy wildly. The younger boy groaned and whined loudly and prolonged as the older one violently shook him and blared in his ear.

"What do you want?" Liam whined.

"Come on, we need to wake up. Your parents are coming home in the afternoon, remember?"

"Ugh, fine," Liam said, slowly getting up. "We need to shower," he pointed out.

"You're right," Theo said. He got up, and both boys stood up.

Theo was walking to the door of Liam's room, intending to leave to get to his room, when he suddenly heard Liam say, " _Where_ are you going?" Theo turned around, confused, and saw Liam standing in the frame of his bathroom door, arms crossed, looking puzzled as well.

"I was gonna go shower," Theo responded.

"Well, come on, then," Liam said, gesturing his hand into the bathroom.

It took a moment in his mind to figure out that Liam was asking him to _join_ him in his shower, but it registered soon enough. "Oh.  
 _Ohhhhhhhh_... No."

"Wh-I-what do you mean 'no'?" Liam asked, stuttering, suspicious and taken aback.

"I mean _no_. As in, no, I will not shower with you."

"Why not?!"

"Because we had sex yesterday and I'm tired," Theo said, his voice taking a whining turn at the end of the sentence.

" _You're_ tired?! I was the one _being_ fucked; if anyone should be tired it should be _me_!" Liam exclaimed.

"Well I was the one doing all the _work_ , so if anyone should be tired it should be _me_ ," Theo argued.

" _You_ did the work?! I did all the heavy lifting. If I hadn't practically _begged_ you to fuck me, you never would have and you'd still be a virgin, so, you're welcome," Liam retorted.

" _Wowwww._ Playing the virgin card, Liam? I expected better of you," Theo said, sounding offended.

"Ugh, I hate you!" Liam exclaimed, walking up to the older boy.

"I hate you more," Theo said back.

Liam reached up and pulled Theo's face in for a kiss, Theo's hands sliding around his waist. Both were practically smiling into the kiss, never really taking the other one seriously. Liam pulled back, Theo still holding his waist. He rested his arms on Theo's chest.

"But seriously, I hate you," Liam grumbled.

"Seriously, I hate you too," Theo said, muffled by Liam's shoulder, which he was currently resting his head on. "Now go shower."

"Fine fine fine," Liam said, and detached himself from the older boy. He gave Theo one last light-hearted glare as he walked into his bathroom. Theo smiled, then walked out of Liam's room's doorway, and into the bathroom of his own room.


	49. Pack Meeting: Take Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scott calls a pack meeting, but things take a turn. ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> am i writing another smut chapter? yes. am i addicted? yes. is liam a slut? yes  
> smexy times ensue btw hehe
> 
> hope u enjoy this chapter!

Liam was washing his elbows with his bar of Dove soap, when he heard his phone buzz against the marble counter of the sink. He opened the shower curtain a little, and groped the counter until he found his phone. He peered his head through the opening in the curtain that he had made, and turned his phone on. It was a message from Scott.

 **scottie:** hey li, can you and theo come over to a pack meeting today @ 11 AM?

Liam hesitated. He hadn't seen the pack for six days, and he wasn't exactly looking forward to it. The last time he had seen them was when they had finally captured the Metamentalgos, and he expected that this meeting was to figure out how to stop it. However, things were still tense between Theo and the pack. Speaking of the pack, he didn't exactly want to see them while he was cheating on his girlfriend with their worst enemy.

It suddenly occurred to him that he had had SEX with his boyfriend that he was cheating on his girlfriend with.

Yeah, he really didn't want to go to this pack meeting. But he knew that this was important to Scott, and soon the older part of the pack would be going off to college. So, he responded with a:

**sure thing.**

He let the water run through his hair, which was growing. It was now as long as, and a little longer than a mullet, which in his opinion, suited him well.

Soon enough he turned the shower off, wrapped his waist with a towel, and dried off. He got his new boxers on, as well as a t-shirt and socks. He dried his hair with a towel, hung it up, and exited the bathroom. There, he found Theo, already dry and dressed, sitting on his bed. His hair was a bit damp, giving it a slightly messy look. It was quite a sight. Liam smiled, and muttered, "You're quick," while he went to his dresser to grab shorts.

"Actually, I'm normal. You just take way too long to shower," Theo responded.

Liam rolled his eyes, put the pair of shorts that he had selected to wear on his dresser, and made his way over to the bed. Once there, he clambered on top of Theo, and kissed him quickly. He then disconnected his lips from the older boy, who was now smiling, and continued straddling the chimera while playing with the hem of his shirt.

"Scott called a pack meeting today," Liam said. Theo hummed in understanding. "He wants you to come too."

" _Really?_ " Theo said saltily and disbelievingly.

"I'm convinced that you're just a Sour Patch personified. And yes, he invited you."

"Do you want me to go?"

"Do you want to go?"

"Not particularly, in case you forgot what happened the last time I saw them," Theo responded.

"Come on, I'll make sure they won't hurt you or anything, and it's a chance for you to make amends with them," Liam persuaded.

Theo was conflicted. On one hand, he really didn't want to see the pack after what he told them. He was mean. And even through everything Theo's been through, he's never thought of himself as _mean_. However, they had hurt him too, which he wasn't using as an excuse for his actions, but it certainly didn't make him want to see the pack again. On the other hand, it could be important, and Liam was right; he could fix things with the pack.

In the end, he decided. "Alright, I'll go."

"Goodie, then I won't be alone," Liam said as he snuggled his head into Theo's chest. Theo ruffled the other boy's hair. "But what are we gonna do about Hayden?" Liam brought up, remembering his dilemma in the shower.

"I don't know. We just have to pretend that we're not dating. I mean, I can do that, but you suck at keeping secrets," Theo answered bluntly. Liam's head shot up from Theo's chest to make eye contact with the chimera and glare at him while pouting. Theo rolled his eyes playfully. "I'm _kidding_ ," he reassured, which made Liam smile and drop his head back onto Theo's chest. "Kinda."

A smack was promptly given to Theo's bicep.   
  


They were now at the front door of Scott's house. Liam had texted his mom and dad about their absence, and both boys did their best to make it look like they didn't have sex in Theo's room just last night.

Liam knocked on the door of the house, and soon, they heard an unlocking noise on the other side, and the door was opened by Scott.

"Hey Liam! Hey... _Theo_ ," Scott greeted. As much as he tried to make everything seem normal, it was clearly obvious that the alpha was uncomfortable.

"Hey Scott! Where should we go?" Liam asked, diverting the awkwardness.

It worked, and Scott's genuine smile was restored on his face, replacing the out-of-place, fake smile. "Just into the living room would be good. The rest of the pack is in there too."

Liam nodded and Theo gave him a quick smile. They walked into the house, Scott following once he locked the door.

There, they indeed saw the pack, all tensed up and displeased at the arrival of the chimera. All except Mason, Corey and Nolan, of course.

Hayden ran up to Liam and gave him a quick peck on the nose. And if Hayden excused his delayed reciprocation as him being caught by sheer surprise, what she didn't know couldn't hurt her. After the pleasantries, mostly to Liam, they got down to business.

"So, now that the Metamentalgos is trapped, we need to find a way to get rid of it. So far, the only thing we've come up with, courtesy of Theo, is taking its pain, and I'm not sure any of us would be able to do that," Scott explained.

"We could just leave it in the sewer," Hayden suggested, "Just make sure you disconnect the pipe it's in from the other ones."

"That's a smart idea, but this creature is living. We can't just leave it to rot in a sewer," Lydia objected. Scott nodded in agreement.

"We need to find a way to get rid of it without hurting it or abandoning it," he decided.

They spent about an hour researching through books about the Metamentalgos and articles about sewers before Liam spoke up.

"Hey Scott, could I use your bathroom real quick?"

"Sure, Li."

Liam thanked him and went on his way. The rest of the pack thought nothing of it, of course, and neither did Theo.

That was, at least, before Liam sent him a very short text message about a minute after he left for the bathroom saying:

 **liam:** come up here and meet me in the bathroom

Theo raised a brow at the text, but nevertheless typed back an:

**ok**

"Hey Scott, do you have another bathroom I could use?" he asked.

Scott nodded. "Yeah, there's two; the one in the guest room and the one in the hallway, right next to my bedroom. Just use whichever one Liam isn't."

Theo nodded and headed up the stairs. Whatever Liam needed better be important. He had to talk to Scott for more than 2 seconds! Oh, the things he'd do for the beta. He saw the bathroom next to Scott's room seemingly empty, so he deduced Liam must've been in the other one. He walked into the guest room and sure enough, he heard Liam's breathing in the bathroom.

He walked in, and closed the door, alerting the beta of his presence. Liam turned around, and smiled when he saw who it was.

"What's wrong?" Theo asked.

"Nothing's wrong," Liam responded, confused.

Not as confused as Theo, however. "Then why'd you text me to come up here?" Theo questioned, holding up his phone and shaking it as symbolism.

Liam's face was punctured with a look of realization. " _Oooooh!_ That makes more sense. Yeah, I just called you up here so we could hang out," he explained, walking the short distance to Theo.

"You wanted me to meet you hear to _hang out_?" Theo asked extremely skeptically.

Liam nodded in affirmation, and he kissed Theo on the lips. It was long and passionate, and when they pulled apart, left Liam smiling.

Theo, on the other hand, was having a very different reaction. His eyebrow was raised and his face had a "Really?" look upon itself.

"You seriously want me to have sex with you in Scott's bathroom while the pack and your girlfriend are downstairs?"

"Not sex!" Liam exclaimed. "Let's just make out and... see where the night takes us," he said flirtatiously.

 _"It's not even night._ It's 12 in the afternoon!"

"Potato, pot-ah-to," Liam dismissed. Theo rolled his eyes, but nevertheless had a smirk on his face as he leaned back in for another kiss. He had no complaints about having sex with Liam, whenever or wherever. He just found it both impressive and exasperating how the beta found a way to get into the most compromising situations in the riskiest places. He loved it, though.

They're kissing turned more aggressive, and soon enough Liam was sitting on the sink counter, legs spread wide, Theo in between them. As Theo kissed the base of Liam's neck, he saw through the corner of his eye Liam's hand moving, reaching into the beta's pocket for something. He slowly stopped kissing the blue-eyed boy's neck, curious as to what Liam was looking for. He got his answer soon enough. Liam's hand came out of his short's pocket, and with it, their bottle of lube and a condom. He wordlessly pressed both objects to Theo's chest, smiling mischievously.

Theo retrieved them, wondering how one person could be so insatiable. He shook his head, muttering a " _Wow_ ," but smirking wide as Liam removed his own pants and boxers, and lifted Theo's shirt from his head.

Theo opened the condom packet, and undid his belt. He undid the zipper, and pulled his underwear down until he could grab his dick, and pulled it out. He slid the plastic onto his length, gave Liam one more shake of the head before opening the lube bottle and pouring it on his fingers.

"Hurry up," Liam demanded.

"Um, excuse me. Am I the one who dragged you up here to have sex with you? No. If anyone should be making accommodations for anybody, it should be _you_."

Liam dismissed him with a wave, and spread his legs wide on the countertop. Theo put his dry hand on Liam's thigh, while the lube-covered one hovered in between Liam's legs. He slowly inserted the first finger, moving it in and out of him slowly, opening up the boy.

"Oh my god, Theo. We don't have all day here, hurry up!" Liam exclaimed.

Theo looked at him exasperated. "Well, how do you want me to do that?"

"Just put three fingers in at once, I dunno," Liam suggested.

Theo pursed his lips, but a smile was most certainly forming on his face. He did as he was asked, and put three of his fingers into the tight hole. He scissored them in and out of Liam, occasionally brushing against his prostate, until the boy was a whimpering mess.

Liam hit his shoulder two times to indicate he was ready, and managed to mutter a, "Make it quick," before Theo lined himself up with Liam, and entered the boy in a haste. Liam moaned in a bit of pain, but mostly pleasure, as he felt the intrusion. After all, in his mind, the pain _was_ pleasure. He could probably sit on Theo's dick all day if he had the chance.

"Move," he ordered. It had been about five minutes since Theo had come up to meet him in the bathroom, and if he didn't want to make the pack suspicious, he'd have to make this quick.

"If you say so," Theo responded. He too, probably understood the urgency of what they were doing as well, which is why Liam was so thankful to have such a smart boyfriend. Theo grabbed Liam's left leg and hooked it over his own right shoulder.

The boy underneath him whimpered as he was more exposed, and then Theo started to thrust. They were fast and harsh, a bit more aggressive than they were yesterday. He adjusted his positioning slightly, so he was now aiming at Liam's prostate, making Liam moan out, and grab at his sweater in a desperate attempt to stay still. Liam's dick was pink and doused in pre-cum, and his hole was sticky and wet from lube, and was wrapping around Theo tight and hot. Liam wouldn't last long, with his eyes rolling back in his head, practically grinding against Theo's thrusts. With a loud moan, muffled by Theo's thumb pressing against his mouth, he came hard, cum shooting into Theo's hand, which had strategically been placed there last-minute to keep Liam's sperm off of their clothes.

Liam's body slumped against the wall, and he breathed contentedly as he waited for Theo to finish. It wouldn't take long; with ten more thrusts Theo was cumming inside the condom, burying his head in Liam's collarbone, filling both the plastic and Liam up. 

They stayed like that for thirty seconds, until Theo finally spoke up:

"What are we gonna do with the condom?"


	50. White Lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Theo's too good at lying, thanks to the Dread Doctors, but it has its perks. Liam's dilemma about Hayden and the pack is growing stronger and stronger each day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UGH IM SO SORRY I DIDN'T UPDATE THIS SCHOOL HAS BEEN KICKING MY ASS 
> 
> but i hope u enjoy this chapter, and thank u so much for reading and interacting with it, bubs! <33
> 
> (also, pls read the A/N below <3)

_**IMPORTANT A/N: hey y'all, so i actually edited the chapter "Braeken" bc i thought it needed some heavy work and i thought the way i wrote Theo was cringy and out of character. u don't need to go back and read it, but future chapters and this one would make more sense if u did, but if not, here's a brief summary of what changed: basically theo is a lot more quiet when he breaks and he doesn't threaten or yell at scott. he basically says stop using my pain to ur advantage, im not some puppet for u to lure the metamentalgos with, u of all ppl should know that Scott, we were friends. and he walks out sadly after whispering all of this in a depressed tone. so yeah that's it, heavily recommend reading the chapter again!** _

_"What are we gonna do with the condom?"_

Liam shrugged nonchalantly and Theo looked at him like he was about to kill the beta.

Liam rolled his eyes. "Just... throw it away?"

"Scott could see it. We can't put it anywhere here."

"Well then, just give it to me, I'll hold onto it until we leave," Liam suggested. Theo stared at him.

"You're kidding, right? They could smell it on you, if they haven't heard you already," Theo said.

"Just rinse it out and I'll put it in my pocket," Liam said. Theo agreed, knowing it was the best of their options. As he was rinsing out the plastic with cold water and soap, Liam spoke up. "Theo, you're smart, right?"

"I like to think so. So the fact that I agreed to do this is questionable." Liam rolled his eyes. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I need you to come up with a reason as to why we smell like each other, and why it took longer than usual to go to the bathroom."

Theo snorted, and said, "I'll think of something." He handed Liam the condom, who put in the hem of his boxers and shivered. The cold water was, well, cold, and felt tingly against his skin. He knew he couldn't dry it off because then Scott would sense it on the towels. This was their only option, which was completely fine with Liam.

Theo washed his hands and got all of Liam's sperm off, which he strategically had caught in his palm. Only a little bit fell onto Liam's torso, which Liam was catching on his fingers and _licking_. Theo bitch-faced him in annoyance but couldn't stop his cock from twitching. Liam washed his hands once Theo was done, using up practically most of the soap bottle, and with that, they walked out of the guest room, Liam going first.

When they got downstairs, they didn't see the pack at the table they were originally sitting in. Instead, they heard noises coming from the flight of stairs leading to the bottom-most floor, the basement. Liam was relieved. The pack were talking over one another, and were now two floors below where Liam and Theo were _rendezvousing_ , meaning it was highly unlikely that they heard Liam and Theo. They walked down to the basement, and were greeted by the pack.

"There you guys are! What took you so long?" Scott asked.

"There was no soap in your guest bathroom, so Liam asked to use the one in mine. We were looking for a refill bottle, but we couldn't find it, so we came downstairs after a while," Theo said. Liam sensed his chemosignals. Normal. His heartbeat was steady. The pack couldn't sense a lie either. His lying and manipulation tactics were flawless; no wonder he used to be murderer: Theo was _good_. And his lie made sense. They left practically no soap in the guest bathroom, and Theo probably did that on purpose. Not to mention, if they were crammed in the same room "looking for something", it explained why they smelled like each other.

He should feel worse than he felt now for lying to Scott, much less the pack and more importantly, his GIRLFRIEND; but whenever he thought about the dilemma his guilt was matched with a slight trickle of excitement and mischief. Excited at the thought of being caught being with Theo, hugging him, kissing him, _fucking him_. Of course his sense of sanity and dignity were not so ecstatic with the thought of the pack finding out that he was cheating on his girlfriend, so he was happy Theo and him (mostly Theo) cleaned up the bathroom well enough. It made him feel less guilty knowing that most of him was trying to keep it a secret. He inwardly scoffed, because seriously? ALL of him should be feeling ashamed right now, but that damned, microscopic devilish side of him was loving the suspense. But he squashed down his thoughts and worries for now, because, hey, what Scott didn't know couldn't hurt him. And it would definitely NOT hurt to not know that you beta and sort-of arch nemesis were dating and having sex in your bathroom. Besides, what's wrong with a little white lie?

_As if that's all that is_ , Liam chided himself. His brain reasoned that the cleaning and lying of the bathroom was technically a white lie, because Scott would've been traumatized to figure that out, and it wasn't necessary to tell him that if he wanted to confess that he was cheating on Hayden with Theo.

His train of though was interrupted as he saw Scott nodding in understanding at Theo's explanation, and bringing them both over to where they were discussing a plan.

"Sorry we moved to the basement without telling you. I just remembered this is where Argent kept his old supernatural books. Mom's letting us look at them even though he's out of town, so _do not_ tell him we did this. These things are practically his children," Scott joked. Liam smiled and shook his head genuinely.

He walked near the table they were all sitting at, Theo going around the other side. Liam was cut short in his path to a chair as Hayden stood up, smiled, and kissed him. Liam froze for a second, but forced himself to kiss back. He tried not to let guilt roll off his body and into the air, in the room with chemosignal-aware werewolves. He must've done it well, because no one said anything unrelated to their plan.

"Alright, you two lovebirds, come here," Stiles said, with his usual, sarcastic manner.

Hayden smiled shyly, and they made it to where the pack was standing and talking.

And as much as Liam wanted to say that he was focused on the Metamentalgos, he wasn't. Instead, he was focused on the green-eyed boy standing across the table from him, that had just fucked him two minutes ago.

Theo knew the younger boy was looking at him, judging from the smirk on his face, despite looking directly at the paper Scott was explaining.

They kept reading the paper Scott had flipped to from one of Argent's book, yet they seemed to draw a complete blank. Theo had a knowing look on his face. The only way to get rid of the Metamentalgos is to take its pain.

Scott seemed frustrated. Theo could sense it.

"We'll figure something out, Scott," the chimera said. Scott looked at him, face resembling shock, but finding nothing but a genuine Theo looking down at some papers, not daring to make eye contact, the alpha nodded.

"I hope so," he responded.

Liam looked at the two boys interacting, and couldn't stop himself from feeling a slight sense of hope. Hope that Theo and the pack would get along. He didn't want to have to choose between the two, because he didn't know who he would choose.

Luckily, maybe he wouldn't have to.


	51. Walking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam and Theo go on a walk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yall ive got two chaptersssss!!
> 
> hope u enjoy! <33

Scott was at a loss. He didn't know how to get rid of this thing. Maybe Theo was right. Maybe the only way to get rid of this thing was to take its pain. Scott sighed, and started to speak. "Alright guys, it's 3:30. I'm gonna let you guys go. I'll study these a little longer, and besides, it's not like the Metamentalgos is going anywhere anytime soon, so it's not as urgent as our other missions."

Scott said goodbye to them all, including Theo, which was comforting to both the chimera and beta.

They got into Theo's truck, and Liam slumped against the chair in relief. "Finally," he mumbled. Theo smiled softly. "If I had to endure one more kiss from Hayden, I think I might have exploded. And not in like, a _good_ way." Theo gave him a look of amused distaste before starting the car up. Liam turned to look at him. "Alright, what do you wanna do?"

Theo shrugged. "We can go to a park and take a walk."

"Sounds good."  
  


They were now in a vicinity around Beacon Hills park. There were some nice woods next to the park, right behind the playground. Theo parked the car, they got out, and headed to the forest.

The path was sprinkled with other people, but otherwise is was pretty quiet. And beautiful. The view of Theo walking, smiling softly as he looked at the lake next to the path, occasionally kicking stones mindlessly, was something Liam was saving for the memory banks. Oh, and the scenic view was nice too. The path was lined with grass and flowers, and there was a pretty lake next to them, gleaming from the sunlight.

Theo stopped walking suddenly, and started smiling widely. Liam was about to ask what he was looking at, but as if Theo knew, he turned Liam around to show him what he was looking at. Baby ducks. They were walking in and out of the lake, staying close to their mother. Liam smiled. It was adorable. He took a picture without disturbing any of them, and soon enough they continued walking. He didn't really know where they were going, but Theo seemingly did, judging by his calculating steps and the way he was occasionally looking at mile markers and signs about the area. Or maybe that was an unconscious byproduct of living with the Dread Doctors.

Liam was proven that Theo did know where they were going when, after about 15 minutes of waking in comfortable silence and rare occasions of chatter, they appeared at something Liam would describe as a balcony. It was a sturdy slab of land that was just over a river, and many people were gathered there. Theo led Liam to an empty spot in the forest right next to the "balcony", where lots of kids and dogs were playing. They sat down, looking at the people and the river below them.

Liam looked at Theo, who was currently looking at the other families. He could sense Theo's happiness. But he didn't miss the something else. Something else that was so small, so microscopic, that Liam never would've noticed it had he not been his anchor, much less a werewolf. It was pain. Longing. The pain you get from longing something so bad, yet so out of reach. Actually, maybe this pain wasn't small or microscopic, but rather Theo had just gotten better at hiding it. Liam understood that pain. He felt it for his entire childhood. He longed for a dad. He had never processed the feelings for his father though, not only because of his IED, but because he never bothered, nor dared to. He tried to forget about it, and it sort of worked. Hey, out of sight, out of mind, right? But with Theo, it wasn't like that. What he longed for, the longing he'd been trying to push down for so long, was right in front of him. A family.

Liam slowly reached out and held Theo's hand. Theo slowly tore his gaze from the families, and looked at Liam. Liam just shrugged. Theo could probably figure out that Liam had put two and two together when he was looking at those families, and smiled softly in appreciation. The beta scooted over to where Theo was, and leaned his head against the older boy's shoulder. About twenty minutes passed like that, neither of the boys saying anything, Liam now across from Theo, mindlessly plucking the grass and some flowers, piling them onto Theo's leg, which was stretched out in front of the chimera and beta.

It had been about an hour since they'd left, and Liam knew it'd take a while to walk back to the car, so they should probably start walking back now. But Liam really didn't want to. He didn't want to go back and face his mom and dad, or the pack, or Hayden. He just wanted to be here with Theo. Theo is the only reason his IED has been dormant these past few weeks. However, all good things must come to an end, so he prodded Theo on his ankle. When he caught Theo's attention he said, "We should head back." He smiled when he saw Theo's reluctant pout, but the boy nevertheless nodded, and stood up, the flowers Liam had been piling on him falling off, a few of them sticking to him.

He helped Liam up by the hands, and gave him a kiss on the nose. It took Liam by surprise, and he looked around for a second to see if anyone had seen, and was planning to hate crime them... or something. As he did, he noticed a couple people looking at them, but none of them seemed bothered by it. Some of those who looked didn't seem to think much of it except for it being cute and casual, and of the few that had a more strong reaction, they seemed more shocked and in wonder than disgusted and angry. Liam looked back at the older boy, who was looking directly at him and smiling. The smile was contagious, and had Liam laughing shyly when he asked, "Why'd you do that?"

"Because I can." Liam rolled his eyes in amusement at the Theo-like response.

They walked back to the car, and at some point, Liam's hand reached out for Theo's, and by the time they reached Theo's truck, their hands were interlaced.

They drove home, and got back at around 5:00 PM, pulling into the driveway of the Geyer household. They noticed another car in the driveway, and inferred that Liam's parents were home.

They were proven right as they walked in on Jenna and David sitting on the couch in the family room, chatting about their work.

"Hi boys!" Jenna greeted.

"Hi, mom," Liam said, followed by Theo waving.

"Where were you?"

"Scott's, and then we went on a walk," Liam replied, taking off his shoes.

"Ah, I see. Well, we're all going out for dinner at around 6:00 PM," Jenna informed them.

Liam's eyebrows furrowed. They didn't all go out to dinner unless there was something important that his parents were going to say to him.

"Why?" he asked suspiciously.

"Why not?" Jenna said, looking innocent. Liam raised an eyebrow. "Ok, fine. We need to talk about something. But we'll do it at dinner."


	52. I Love You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jenna and David have some big news. Theo has even bigger news. Liam does two spit takes thanks to them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> second update yeehawwww :)

"Theo, I'm scared," Liam pouted.

Theo and Liam were now sitting on the floor of the chimera's room, playing a game of chess that Theo was predictably winning, on Theo's chess board that he'd gotten for his 7th birthday.

"Why?" Theo muttered back, only half-paying attention to what his boyfriend was saying, mostly focused on the game.

"What could they possibly wanna talk to us about? Oh my God, do you think they've figured out about us?" Liam said, beginning to panic, flailing his hands.

"Relax, Liam. It's probably about them, and not us."

"Well, what do you think it is?"

Theo sighed. He broke his gaze from the board to look at Liam and said, "First off, it's your turn. Second, they don't have a lot going on in their lives besides their kid, me, their jobs, and their relationship, so- Liam, don't move your rook there, I'll take it,- _so_ , I'd narrow it down to those four things."

Liam stared in the board in thought, thinking both about the game and what Theo had said. "Well, I doubt it's about their jobs; they're both good doctors and stuff. Should I move my bishop here? No? Ok."

"So now there's three things. Me, you, and their marriage."

"I guess we'll have to figure out once we're there," Liam said, falteringly moving his pawn.

Theo smiled, moving his rook to G2 and declaring, "Checkmate."

"AHHHHHHHHH!" Liam sobbed, dramatically flopping his head into his hands. "Why?! WHY?" Liam let out a big sigh, then glared at the grinning chimera. "How are you so good at chess?!"

"Let's just say I was motivated to play well considering the Dread Doctors water boarded me every time I lost a chess match while I was training with them," Theo quipped. Liam gave him a look of terror and disgust. Theo smiled. "We should get ready, Li. It's 5:50."

Liam crinkled his nose in distaste. "Fine."

"I thought you were excited to hear what they had to tell you," Theo said.

"I am, but I also don't want to hear it," Liam said. "What if it's bad news? What if it's an emergency? What if it actually _is_ about us?"

"If it was bad, an emergency, or about us, why would they take us out to dinner? Why not just do it in the house?"

"Because going to a restaurant butters you up. Gets you all happy before they deliver the bad news. Trust me, mom's done this a thousand times. In fact, the fact that we're going to a restaurant means that it's MORE likely that it's gonna be something bad."

Theo rolled his eyes. "Calm down, pup, it'll be fine."

"Hmph."

Theo changed into a plaid shirt to be a little more highbrow, and after dealing with a whining Liam, helped the boy change into a dress shirt as well. And when he said "helped the boy" he meant "helped the boy". Liam had his arms up and everything when Theo shrugged the dress shirt on him. The beta really lived up to the name, "Little wolf."

After giving Theo a couple kisses, the pair headed out, where they saw Jenna and David waiting for them. David was in a suit, which was pretty normal for him, considering he wore dress shirts like they were life support. However, it was a bit stunning to see Jenna in a dress. Liam should be used to it, considering he's her son, but it was rare when she did. She only did it when they went out for something fancy, otherwise it was a lab coat or a button-up blouse.

"Oh, you boys look great! Theo, I see you managed to get Liam into something fancy," Jenna commented upon seeing the boys.

Liam rolled his eyes. "How do you know _I_ didn't put this on _myself_?"

Jenna snorted, trying to contain her laughter, before she started cackling, both for the theatrics but also genuinely. Liam rolled his eyes yet again, shaking his head, nostrils flared slightly in mock disapproval.

Jenna, after overcoming her fit of laughter, sighed. "That was a good one, honey. Now let's go!"

They walked out of the house and into David's car, starting on the 45-minute drive to whatever restaurant David had put in the GPS. Liam and Theo were in the back, talking, and Liam was sitting in the middle seat for some reason Jenna didn't understand. No one really _chose_ to sit in the middle seat.

Theo knew why though, if Liam's inconspicuous touches to his thigh were any indication of why the boy was sitting in the middle, or to be more exact, next to him.

By about 6:45 they arrived at _Bellissima_ , which was a sophisticated Italian restaurant, which Liam noticed he was seeing a lot of in Beacon Hills. David parked the car, and they all got out, Theo offering Liam a hand when he got his seatbelt stuck.

"It's not my fault, the car is old!"

"Mhm."  
  


They made it to the restaurant right on time, and were now sitting in a booth. Liam could already see things going wonky. For starters, David was sipping on some sort of alcoholic concoction that were his and Jenna's favorite drink. That's not what was weird, no. What struck him as weird was that Jenna _wasn't_ drinking one of them; she had refused a drink adamantly when the waiter had asked. She didn't even get a coffee or something.

_Are you supposed to drink coffee at 7:00 PM?_  
Liam thought. But that wasn't the point. The point was that the first leaf had fallen, indicating the inevitable autumn, to put it metaphorically. Liam didn't want to pry, so he waited until the appetizers and entrees arrived, holding onto Theo's hand underneath the table. His mother ordered something... questionable, to put it lightly. It was an incredibly odd combination of foods that Liam had never seen her eat on their own, much less together on one plate.

Nevertheless, he thought everyone had settled in enough for him to start asking questions.

"So... Mom, David. What's up?" Liam asked, twirling pasta on his fork.

Jenna turned to look at David, changing her posture so she was sitting upright, and opened her mouth to begin speaking. "Right. So, boys, there is something that David and I have figured out recently, a couple days ago to be exact, that we need to share." She grabbed David's hand in excitement and nervousness, a small smile forming on both of their lips.

Liam brought his glass of water to his lips, drinking in anticipation.

"I'm pregnant."

The water in Liam's mouth came sputtering out as he did a genuine spit take, spraying the entire table, as well as the people around him, mainly David.

"Liam!" Jenna chided, now assessing the damage done to her husband, who was glaring in disgust at Liam. Theo grinned, and turned to look at the restaurant, which was now looking at Liam in shock. Theo tried to hold in his laughter, he could laugh at Liam later. For now, he helped Jenna wipe of David.

He took a look at Liam, who was completely dazed, eyebrows furrowed, mouth open, staring at no one, just unfocused at the bread sticks.

" _Liam_. Liam!" Jenna exclaimed, snapping her fingers in front of his face impatiently.

Liam, unmoving, began to speak. "You're... _pregnant_."

Jenna rolled her eyes. "Yes Liam, I'm pregnant. Can you look at me?"

Theo grabbed Liam's jaw and shook him. Finally Liam snapped out of whatever daze he was in and turned his head to face his mother.

"You're pregnant. As in, there's a baby inside you. As in, I'm gonna have a sibling."

"Yes Liam, that's how pregnancies normally work," David said.

Liam turned to Theo, who was smiling at the boy. "Congrats, Li," Theo said, patting him on the back. "And Mr. and Mrs, Geyer, of course."

"Of course, Theo, this won't change anything about your living with us," Jenna assured him, earning a smile from the boy.

"Wow. Ok, uh- I-"

"English, Liam," David commented.

"We thought you'd be happy, Liam," Jenna said hopefully.

"I- I _am_ happy! I'm really happy, right Theo? No, yeah, it's just...wo- wow. Wow."

"Well, you know what this means, don't you, Liam?" David asked.

"I'm gonna be an older brother," Liam said, starting to overcome the shock enough to start smiling.

"It also means that your parents are having sex."

"Theo!" the Geyer family exclaimed together, earning a grin from the chimera.  
  
  


"Theo, can you believe it?" Liam said wondrously. It was 9:30 PM, and they were back in their house, Liam and Theo sitting on Liam's bed. The check that David had to pay was proof that this dinner was an effort to groom Liam and Theo before they dropped some big news. Luckily, the news was good, and not about them.

"No, Liam, I can't, and if you ask me that one more time, I will gut you with this spork."

Liam turned to look at Theo, who was holding up the spork he was using to eat the cheesecake they took home from the restaurant.

"Sorry, sorry, but it's just so exciting!"

"I know, pup, I know," Theo said, amused. He scooped a piece of cheesecake onto the spork, and held it to Liam's mouth, who gladly accepted the dessert.

Liam turned on the TV in his room, and played some Phineas and Ferb. He moved up and was now sitting next to Theo, hugging his arm. He was getting used to this PDA thing.

About fifteen minutes had passed, and Liam was beginning to feel pretty cold. David kept the thermostat down during summer, understandably, but it was still cold when it's night. "I'm cold," Liam whined.

Theo broke his gaze to look down at the werewolf, who indeed looked cold. Theo pushed Liam off of him, earning a whine from the younger boy. However, the whining stopped when he saw Theo taking off his jacket. Liam looked at him with an eyebrow raised, simultaneously reaching for his glass of warm water. Theo took the jacket off, and tossed it to the beta.

"What's this for?" Liam asked suspiciously.

"I'm giving it to you." Liam raised a brow. " _To_ _wear_."

"But then you'll be cold," Liam pointed out, taking a sip of the hot water in an attempt to warm himself up.

Theo, eating his cheesecake, said casually, "Yeah, but I love you, so it's fine."

Liam, for the second time that evening, choked on his water, luckily not spitting it out, having more control over himself and knowing that it would stain his bed and burn him. Once he regained himself from his fit of coughing, he turned to look at Theo with wide eyes, while the chimera looked confused and neutral.

"Excuse me?" Liam asked.

"I said, 'Yeah, I love you, so it's fine,'" Theo explained, not getting what Liam was so shocked at.

"You love me?" Liam asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"I-," Liam managed to get out.

"What?"

"Nothing, it's just, we've been dating for like, _a week_."

"Yes?"

"A-are we supposed to _say_ that we _love_ each other one week into a relationship?"

"Well, if we do, why wouldn't we?"

"Because- TV! Books, movies, media, I don't know! It's just, according to everyone and everything, saying 'I love you' is kind of... a big deal."

"Even if it's a big deal, if I love you, then why wouldn't I say it?"

"I-I don't know! It took Hayden and me like, two months to tell each other we loved each other!"

"And look how that turned out," Theo quipped. "Besides, we're not Hayden and Liam or any TV couple that you've seen."

Liam smiled at that. He knew he was being silly by using other relationships and TV show characters as the basis for his life, but what else could he compare it to?

"You don't have to say it back, don't worry. I can smell your anxiety even without my chimera senses."

Liam turned to look at him. "What- No! No, yeah, no, I never said I didn't love you too, I was just... taken by surprise."

"Are you saying that you love me?"

Liam stared at him. Did he love Theo? Was he willing to die for him and protect him at all costs. Was he willing to break up with his girlfriend for him? Even if he did, should he say it so soon in their relationship? But nevertheless, he felt a smile forming on his face. "...Yeah. I love you too."

Theo turned to look down at him. The smile that he gave the beta was yet another one Liam was never forgetting. Especially the kiss that followed.

"Good," Theo muttered.


End file.
